My Own Personal Rock Star
by Emma Hardy
Summary: Edward is a Grammy-winning rock star and Bella is his personally-hired makeup artist. They flirt for six years before finally acting on it. Edward becomes cliche badass rock star. How will Bella react? READ/REVIEW! FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMONADE!Rated M for smut
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hello!! Just a quick word about this story!! I'm been totally fantasizing about a tattooed Edward and a rock star Edward, no less. Plus, I just saw David Cook on Friday, so the rock concert atmosphere is fresh in my mind. That's also why the two songs I have in here are David Cook. Anyway, enjoy!! Lemon is more towards the end-ish. Innuendos early on, though : ) LINKS TO EDWARD'S TATTOOS ARE ON MY AUTHOR'S PAGE!!

**Songs: **

Okay, if you actually listen to these songs while reading them, it doubles the effect of the story. If you have these on your iTunes or Zune or whatever, more power to you! If not, YouTube the following:

"Bar-Ba-Sol" by David Cook – It's the first song when they go out on stage. Don't start until Edward's POV.

"Permanent" by David Cook – When Edward announces a slow song. You'll see what I mean. (I've always found this to be a very Bedward-ish song :D)

**Disclaimer: **I freakin' wish I were Stephenie Meyer. I just make the characters do dirty things where Stephenie would normally "fade to black."

**My Own Personal Rock Star**

**EPOV**

We were finally back in Seattle again, our most frequent venue. My band, Irritable Mountain Lions, and I got our start here when we were just in high school. We were now twenty-five and exponentially more famous. We were a cross between Aerosmith and One Republic, or at least that's what we liked to flatter ourselves into thinking. We really tried not to let our egos get too big, but we couldn't help but be proud of how far we'd come. We'd gone from practicing in my garage (sometimes Emmett's) to having every single we released make America's Top 40 every weekend on KISS FM. Last week we won our first prestigious award: a Grammy for best new group.

So as our tour bus pulled into the back lot of The Gorge Amphitheater in Seattle, we were still trying to come down from our ego trip. This was the first stop on our Irritable tour, our first huge nationwide tour. Not to mention that the show was sold out and The Gorge was one of the most anticipated venues in America by any type of artist. It was right up there with Madison Square Garden, for crying out loud (which we were playing next month). That wasn't the only reason I was excited to be back in Seattle.

It wouldn't be long now until I could see her beautiful face. I was slightly nervous, only because I mentioned her in our Grammy acceptance speech without even having told her we were nominated. I cursed myself every day for not inviting her to be my "plus one." Instead, I went solo. I was probably a one of a kind for a rock star, being that it was Bella or no one at all…at least until I found out if Bella felt the same. I didn't just pick up random groupies on the road. It's always been Bella. Even Emmett and Jasper didn't know I was a virgin. Of course, she probably didn't feel quite as strongly about me. I only got to see my favorite makeup artist every time we came to Seattle. She was officially hired by our band, but she didn't travel with us. Last time we were here (at a smaller venue, mind you) we'd flirted like crazy. I knew the whole rock star thing didn't impress her as it would some random groupie, and I liked that. She liked me for me. My ability to play keyboard, guitar, and sing probably didn't hurt my cause, though.

I could recall the first time I saw her angel's face like it was yesterday even though it was six years ago. We were playing a show at The Rave, a popular hangout for older teens to hear good music and actually a pretty well-known concert venue in the Pacific Northwest. It was one of our first shows for a bigger audience and I was slightly nervous, though I'd never let it show. The three of us guys walked out on stage to a pretty neutral-sounding applause, which didn't surprise or offend me. We were halfway through the first song when I saw her. She'd come from nowhere, but I was thankful for whomever had made the decision that she should be in this club tonight. Hell, I was thankful for her parents for bringing her into my world and I hadn't even met her…yet. She looked like heaven and sin all at the same time in her dark blue tube top and ass-hugging jeans. Her mahogany tresses flowed down her back in soft curls. But more than all that, what I'll never forget were her velvety brown eyes staring up at mine.

Our first song got a huge response and from then on the show was a riot. That didn't stop Jasper from flirting with a small cute girl who appeared to be my heaven's friend. And I swear, when Jasper invited them to the after party I could have kissed him if I had batted on that side of the plate. It turned out she had gone to beauty school part time while studying to be a writer. It also just so happened that we were looking for a makeup artist. At the time, we only played gigs in the Seattle area, so we quickly hired her and haven't regretted it once.

Here in 2009, the bus parked by the loading dock and we got off, Emmett and Jasper joking about something that I wasn't paying any attention to as we walked inside and down the dimly lit hallway to the dressing rooms. The room we walked into was much brighter. There were mirrors above low counters, and every mirror was surrounded by bright lights. And there she was, sitting on the counter, the lights behind her making it look like she was glowing—or maybe that was just me being biased—smiling up at me, her chocolate brown eyes swimming with excitement from under her long, thick lashes.

"See, dude? I told you that's what his goofy grin on the bus was for when we pulled in," Emmett said loudly as he jabbed Jasper in the ribs with his elbow. They had been making fun of me ever since I mentioned her on worldwide television. They always knew I liked her, but that crossed the line.

I ignored them and opened my arms for a hug from Bella as she stood up. "It's so good to see you again, Bella," I whispered in her ear, my arms still wrapped around her slight frame.

**BPOV**

I sat on the counter in the makeup room backstage at The Gorge chewing relentlessly on my lower lip, my leg bouncing up and down. The Irritable Mountain Lions were finally coming back to Seattle to play a concert to a sold out crowd. It seemed like ages ago when I first met the band in that small hole-in-the-wall bar. The Rave was the perfect venue for stars on the rise. Countless bands were founded there, some more famous than others. I still remember the exact moment I saw the most perfect man on earth. We were the same age, nineteen and still in college.

I was standing with my back to the bar, my elbows resting on the counter to face the stage when I saw him. Edward Cullen came out on stage, an electric guitar strapped around his body and his bronze hair absolutely perfectly placed in complete disarray. He was wearing a black wife beater and dark denim skinny jeans with a studded belt. I knew immediately that I wanted him. I found myself drifting absently toward the stage until I was right in front, never taking my eyes off him the whole time. Thanks to my best friend Alice—who was completely extroverted and continuously flirted with the bass player, Jasper Whitlock—I was introduced to them and then officially hired as their makeup artist when I told them what my profession was. Edward and I had kind of a flirty thing going on, but nothing ever really happened. And it had been like that every time they came back to Seattle or at least somewhere close.

I didn't travel around the country with them now; I couldn't leave my father by himself for too long. It still boggled me as to how he lived alone for all those years. Though, I sensed the time was near. He was getting pretty close to Sue Clearwater, a friend of the family.

I shook my head and tried to prepare myself for when the band would arrive. That meant I would get to see Edward again. We were now twenty-five and I hadn't seen him since the year we graduated college when he was at The Rave again, that time to a much bigger crowd. I always knew they would be famous one day, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened when I was watching the Grammys last week.

I was sitting on my couch next to Alice—who hadn't heard much from Jasper while they were gone either—and we were just about to dig into the popcorn we had made for the occasion. About halfway through the show, Alice had gone to the bathroom and I was alone. Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus were presenting the Grammy for best new artist, which I shrugged off. I knew they would probably just be some country or pop star, so I was looking down at a crossword puzzle on my lap and was halfway through writing the word "Hepburn" when I heard Taylor Swift's peppy little voice say, "And the Grammy goes to, The Irritable Mountain Lions." My eyes popped out of my sockets and I screamed bloody murder, causing Alice to come out of the bathroom, slamming the door open.

"Bella! What the hell?!" she shouted at me as I shot up off the couch and pointed to the television where Edward, Jasper and Emmett were headed up on stage, huge smiles on their faces. I was now kneeling in front of the television, my face six inches away from the screen, just staring at his beautiful face as he thanked all the screaming fans in the balconies. When it quieted down he spoke, fulfilling his duty as the lead singer to be the band's representative. "Thank you all so much. We just want to thank all of our fans who were with us from the beginning and those that are new. Thank you to our producer and manager, Gary Olds and RCA Records for signing us. Thank you to our parents for letting us practice in the garage in high school, and The Rave in Seattle for giving us our start. And finally," he said looking at the camera, "I'd like to thank Seattle's best makeup artist, Bella Swan, for always believing in us from the start." And he winked. He winked. At me. I don't know what happened next because I was melted in a pool on the floor.

Back to the present, I felt the beginnings of a familiar pool in a certain place at the thought of him. It happened whenever Edward Cullen popped into my brain. He could not only sing with the voice of a rock God, but he could play piano and guitar. If that isn't sexy, then Harry Potter's not a wizard. And his hair? I felt like it should be capitalized and treated as a proper noun: The Hair. It was perfect, and I never had to do a thing to it when I worked on him before a show. The golden bronze mop seemed to sit just right every time. His bright green eyes shone every time I saw him. The last time we had seen each other, we had flirted like mad. I mean, I know that I have _no_ chance in hell with this God among men, it had at least seemed like there was the ghost of a chance in him wanting me. It was all I could think about after that wink a week ago. But then again, he is a famous rock star now with a huge following of fans. He could have absolutely any woman he wanted.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a faint rumbling sound. I knew what that sound was because I spent countless hours waiting to hear it every time my boys were back in town…my boy…my man. _Shut up, Bella, he's not yours by any means. Just because you have creepy fantasies about him does not mean you own him._ The sound meant that the tour bus had pulled up to the amphitheater. It felt like hours before I saw Emmett and Jasper enter the room where I had been waiting. They were grinning and joking about something, but I couldn't make out what it was. Then, I saw him. Edward entered into the room with that breathtaking crooked smile on his face. I smiled back up at him, looking up through my eye lashes in a lame attempt to look sexy. He then walked over to me, beaming with his arms wide open for a hug. I stood up and hugged him back. "It's so good to see you again, Bella," he whispered into my ear. I fought back a shudder and tried to keep my knees from buckling. God damn it all, his voice was sexy. Every part of him was pure sex. No wonder every woman on Earth adored him. "It's fantastic to see you, too, Edward. It's been far too long," I replied with a seductive smirk.

**EPOV**

God, she felt even better in my arms than I remembered. I pressed her soft body to mine and inhaled the familiar strawberry scent of her hair. "Yes, far too long." It had been three years since I saw this perfect Goddess before me. Three years in which anything at all could have happened. I subtly took a step back from her, my hands sliding down her arms all the way to her hands. I ran my thumb over the ring finger on her left hand…empty, just as I'd selfishly hoped. I smiled widely at her, my heart soaring before telling myself to calm down._ Just because she's not engaged or married doesn't mean she doesn't have a boyfriend, douche bag, _I told myself.

"Shall we get started?" she asked as she gestured for two of her assistants to work on Emmett and Jasper.

I looked at my cell phone which informed me it was an hour until show time. "I think maybe that would be a good idea," I told her with a wink.

She smiled and gestured to one of the chairs in front of the lighted mirrors. "Have a seat, then," she requested.

"Yes ma'am," I joked, sitting down and facing the mirror. Her laugh lit up the room, making me smile wider.

She opened her huge black box full of everything a makeup artist would ever need and pulled out the foundation. I scrunched my nose, hating the makeup, but I'd never stop her from touching me, so I put up with it. She dabbed the brush in the powder foundation and moved the brush in circular motions all over my face, occasionally blending it in with her fingers, making me tingle.

"So," she finally said with a mischievous gleam in her eye, "I guess congratulations are in order."

I laughed, knowing where she was going with this. I watched her reach for bronzer before answering. She turned back to me, swirling the brush over the brown compacted powder as I spoke. "I suppose you could say that," I teased as she began sweeping the soft bristles over strategic places on my face and neck. God, how I wished that brush was her lips.

"Well congratulations, then," she said, her voice ringing with amusement. "I'm not sure if I should be offended that you didn't tell, 'Seattle's best makeup artist,' that you were nominated for a fucking Grammy," she said with a laugh.

I raised an eyebrow at her, smirking before shaking my head. It wasn't often Bella swore, but when she did it was usually for comedic dramatization, just like she did now. "I have a reason for that," I informed her.

"Oh, a reason?" Her lips moved away from her perfect teeth into a stunning smile, which appeared to be somewhat flirtatious if I wasn't just trying to appease myself with fantasies.

"Yes, Bella, a reason." I smiled back briefly but my face turned more serious as she held the black eyeliner up, waiting for me to speak before she applied it. I could tell she wasn't going to say anything so I continued. "I didn't want to jinx myself."

Probably knowing what was coming, Emmett and Jasper got up and left, saying they wanted to look around before the show started.

She rolled her beautiful eyes and swatted my cheek gently. I knew that was her way of telling me to close my eyes so she could line my eyes in black. I never understood why women liked that on rockers, but there was only one woman I was trying to impress anyway. "But surely you told other people."

I simply smiled, not wanting to move my body with laughter. I wasn't particularly fond of the idea of getting poked in the eye. "You were the person I most wanted to be proud of us if we won, Bella. You believed in us more than anyone, even more than our parents. I didn't want to mess it up by telling you."

She pulled the eyeliner away from my eye and I opened my eyes to see her head turned. I reached out and used my index finger to turn her face to me and noticed she was using her free hand to wipe a tear. "Bella, I'm sorry I—,"

She cut me off before I could finish. "No, no, Edward. It's not that. I'm just so…,"

She didn't have to finish for me to know what she meant. She was touched, and the fact that all of that mattered so much to her made my heart melt. There was no doubt about it. I was head over heels in love with Bella Swan. I reached up to intimately wipe a tear away, and then wiped it on my own pants, the ones I was going to be wearing on stage.

She finished my eyeliner, and after applying the clear mascara (which I hated), she backed up and brushed her hands off. "There, done," she said, clearly satisfied. I looked in the mirror and there he was: my alter ego, badass-totally-not-a-virgin Edward. I didn't like him as much, but he was hot.

I looked at Bella just in time to see her avert her gaze from me, making me chuckle. Okay, maybe she was a little bit into this part of me. Her cheeks flushed a bright red and I kissed one chastely before turning my back and yanking off my t-shirt and replacing it with the only way I would go out on stage: my favorite black beater. It was the exact one I was wearing when I met Bella. It had holes in it to be sure, but that just made my look even grungier.

**BPOV**

I had to bite my lip to stop the drool from dripping down my chin when Edward took his shirt off. He probably didn't think anything of it. As far as I knew (which wasn't very far) guys usually didn't think much of it. But Edward was perfect. On his left arm he had a tattoo that I had become very familiar with. He wore that same beater for every show, so during every show I got a perfect view of the golden-eyed lion on his bicep. But this was the first I was seeing of the larger tattoo between his shoulder blades.

It was black and white, and depicted an immortal with huge wings the length of his body who had his arms wrapped around a woman in a white flowing dress, his mouth pressed to her neck. There was an asp wrapped around their feet, representing what I assumed to be the temptation of the forbidden fruit. I realized that the wings must have meant he was her angel…just like Edward was mine.

I let out a hugely embarrassing groan when he covered it up with his infamous black beater. He'd told me once it was always the same one he was wearing the night we met. He turned around at my outburst and laughed. "Something wrong, love?" he asked in a fake British rocker accent he knew I loved.

I smirked and shook my head. "I just love that tattoo. I've never seen it."

"Not many people know it's there," he replied with an adorable shrug. "Actually, you're one of the few people to have ever seen it." I could have sworn he blushed when he said that. What did he mean? He was a rock star, surely lots of people had seen his bare back…lots of girls perhaps?

I ignored it temporarily and smiled. "I love it. It's a forbidden fruit kind of thing, right?" I asked.

He beamed at me as he ran a hand through his hair. _Oh God. His Hair. Maybe I should try to do something with it just to have an excuse to run my fingers through it. Snap out of it, Bella, let's go._ "That's exactly right, Bella."

"You know, maybe you should let people see it," I suggested. "It's very…badass."

He smiled crookedly and he almost looked as if he was getting an idea. "Maybe that's a good idea, thanks Bella," he said as the stage manager came into the dressing room.

"Two minutes, Edward," he warned, holding up two of his fingers as Edward nodded.

He turned to me, then. "You'll be watching?" he asked.

I laughed and mockingly crossed my arms. "Edward Cullen, have I missed one of your shows when you've been in town?"

His grin grew and he kissed my cheek. "No, Bella, you haven't."

"That's right," I said with a firm nod. "Now let's get you out there." I put a hand on his back briefly to guide him out of the room and it sent tingles up my entire arm, across my shoulder and throughout my body.

We walked down the small hallway and entered into a larger one that was more of a tunnel that led to the side of the stage. There was crew everywhere, but they parted for Edward to pass through. The stage was dark and Emmett and Jasper were already in their places. Edward kissed my cheek swiftly before grabbing his guitar and going down into the pit that would lift him dramatically onto the stage.

The lights changed to green and purple as Emmett started a steady rhythm on the drum while Jasper strummed even chords on the bass and an extra guitar player played a repeated motive, causing loud shouts and cheers from the sold out crowd. But those shouts were nothing like the ones I heard a few seconds later when the sounds of another guitar came even louder from the speakers to follow Emmett's lead-in. I knew it was Edward from the literal blood-curdling screams from the girls in the audience. _Back off, bitches._ I stood on my tip-toes, moving a little closer to the front of the stage so Emmett's platform wasn't in the way of my view. There he was, my own personal sex bomb, singing his heart out and making the teen girls in the front row scream with glee.

**EPOV**

I didn't get stage fright anymore. I was fairly used to the screaming fans. It actually sent a thrill through my spine and my body was pumped with adrenaline every time someone screamed my name, making me play with more emotion than the measure before. By the end of the show I was usually standing on a piano or sliding across the stage on my knees while the screams crescendoed to their highest. On one occasion about a month ago, I actually broke my Fender, smashing it on the stage. When I came down from my adrenaline rush—they're actually quite common, you can Google them—I actually cried over the splintered pieces of wood.

But now, as I walked to the stage with Bella by my side, her promise to watch the show ringing in my ears, I realized I was nervous. The last time she saw us live we weren't quote, unquote "rock stars." Back then we were more like aspiring musicians. But the show must go on, so I kissed her cheek before ducking down into the little contraption that would elevate me dramatically up onto the stage. Emmett and the extra guitar player started the subtle entrance to our first song, quickly joined by Jasper on the bass in the third measure. Why my dramatic entrance? We were one of those bands where the average fan only knew my name. I was the "heartthrob." Ew. I was like Adam Lavine of Maroon 5 or Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy. Finally my entrance was coming up and I felt a small jolt as the elevator rose slowly. The lights changed colors as I rose onto the stage, immediately hitting a power chord that prompted ear-splitting screams.

I started singing and the screams got impossibly louder. This was a crowd favorite, and one of our few cover songs. It was called "Bar-Ba-Sol" and was originally sung by David Cook. I looked to my left and saw Bella's beaming face as she swayed lightly and sang along. Then I broke into my big guitar solo as I got in Jasper's face in a classic rock concert move.

The song ended and I smirked to myself. Taking Bella's advice, I pulled my tank top off and threw it straight to her. I laughed at her surprised face as she caught it and my heart melted when she smiled and pulled it close to her chest. Of course, this earned a heavy response from the female portion of the audience. I grabbed the mic and pulled it loose from its stand, screeching like a true rock star into it, "How ya doin' Seattleeeee?! It's fuckin' great to be home!!"

I turned to let the world see the tattoo on my back for the first time, the microphone fisted in my right hand which was pumped into the air as Emmett laughed at my uncharacteristic moves, starting the next song right away. I glanced to my right and saw Bella giggling and I couldn't resist winking at her.

After a few more songs, when we were about halfway through the show, I nodded meaningfully at Emmett and Jasper, indicating it was time to debut our new song. I was glad they'd agreed to put this song I'd written solo on our next album. I grabbed the microphone again after putting my electric guitar down. I spoke to the audience as a baby grand piano was wheeled onto the stage. "Alright this next song is for someone very important to me, and I owe her so much, especially my humility. Whenever I think about her I remember what life is really about, at least for me." I turned to my favorite person in the entire world. "Bella this is for you. Thank you for being in my life."

I smiled at her dumbfounded expression and walked over to the piano and started the notes with my right hand, adding a subtle left hand as I started singing into the attached mic. I sang that song with more emotion than I'd ever felt in my entire life combined. By the time my fingers struck the keys of the final chord, I had a tear running down my cheek and I could only think of one thing to do.

"Thank you so much," I said into the mic in response to the adoring fans, who I hoped were as touched by that song as I was at that moment. One split second look at Emmett and Jasper as I stood up from the piano bench told me they'd never seen me perform a song like that either. As much fun as I had on stage, nothing had ever hit me like that before. So I moved away from the piano and walked directly at Bella. Without asking for permission or caring if thousands of people were watching, I put one hand on the small of her back and the other behind her neck, pulling her close. I pressed my forehead to hers, feeling our mutual tears meet. I kissed her softly at first, not wanting our first kiss to be a disaster, but when she started kissing back I deepened it rather quickly. I could feel her hands in my hair as I ran my tongue against her lips quickly one time and she immediately opened to me, smashing her tongue to mine.

I backed away regretfully after a minute and picked up another guitar to hide my new little problem from the audience. I brushed my hand against her cheek and kissed her once more softly. "I love you, Bella," I said just loud enough for her to hear over all the noise; the guys had started playing a little riff to distract the audience and as a lead-in to the next song.

Her answering smile made me weak in the knees. "I love you, too, Edward," she said, a tear running down her perfect cheek which I wiped away just like earlier and I dried my finger on my chest. She smiled and looked back up my face, slight alarm crossing her features. "Oh, wait!"

She ran to her emergency makeup kit and made quick work of fixing my tear-stained makeup. Yep, I felt like a man alright. I laughed when she was done fixing my "rocker eyeliner" as she liked to call it and pecked her cheek. "Thanks, babe," I said as I winked and went back out on stage for a few more songs.

I felt like I was walking on air during those last songs and I was in fact so high on life that I combined all three of my adrenaline rush acts. I played my final guitar solo on my knees on top of the closed lid of the baby grand. At the end of the song I stood on the piano and jumped down, sending my guitar sailing into the crowd into the eager arms of the teenage girls in the fifth row.

**BPOV**

I held Edward's tank top close to my heart the entire time I watched him perform. He looked like he was having the absolute time of his life, so carefree. I was never more sure that I was in love with him than I was when I watched him let loose like this. The music seemed to grab him and throw him on a three-hour roller coaster.

But during every show there was always one slow song, and I knew that time was coming when the stage crew pushed past me with a baby grand piano. What I wasn't expecting in the least was Edward's speech. "Alright this next song is for someone very important to me, and I owe her so much, especially my humility." _Crap, what? A girlfriend I don't know about? Shit._ "Whenever I think about her I remember what life is really about, at least for me." _Gag_. Oh wait, nope. He was turning to look at me, his beautiful green eyes pouring his message into my soul. "Bella this is for you. Thank you for being in my life." If I hadn't wanted to hear this song so badly, I would have been a big pool of Bella mush.

He sat down at his piano and the second he started to play, it felt like someone was trying to push all my insides up through my throat, choking me up completely. I felt the pressure behind my cheeks building, and by the time he was through the first line of the song, there was a steady stream of warm, wet tears running down my cheeks.

His fingers graced the last notes of the song and I could feel the waves of emotion flowing off of him and crashing into me, making me drown in the love I knew he felt for me in that moment. He said something I didn't hear to the audience and made his way to me in all his bare-chested beauty. It wasn't until he was right in front of me that I could see he was crying, too.

He pressed his forehead to mine and my breath stopped as he started to kiss me. His lips were the most perfect thing I'd ever felt in my life. And it finally felt like saving myself for him wasn't as stupid as I'd been starting to think it was a few weeks ago. When he ran his tongue over my lips I couldn't help myself. I opened my mouth right away to him, which was apparently the right move. He pulled my tongue to his and massaged them together lovingly.

All too soon he backed away, picking up a guitar and sliding it into place over his very prominent erection. Noticing this I felt the fait tingling between my legs turn into more of a pool. I lost all my peripheral vision and all I saw was him as he stroked my cheek and said the words I'd wanted to tell him for the last six years. "I love you, Bella," he said, his crooked smile looking absolutely delicious.

Emmett and Jasper started playing something random to keep the crowd from getting restless and effectively prolonging Edward's time with me. I smiled brilliantly up at him and said, "I love you, too, Edward." I felt another pesky tear run down my cheek which he sweetly wiped off and dried his thumb on his chest. Yum.

I looked up at his face and saw his makeup completely smeared. "Oh, wait!" I told at him as he was about to go back on stage. I quickly fixed his fucking sexy-as-hell eyeliner and wiped away any smudges.

When I was done he kissed my cheek adoringly and said, "Thanks, babe," before waking his beautiful self back on stage to finish the concert. Okay, that was officially the hottest thing I'd ever heard. "Babe." I prayed to whatever amazing God had created him that he'd always call me that.

As I watched the rest of the show, I thought about what it would be like to finally let Charlie live on his own with a little help in the meal department from Sue Clearwater. If Edward asked me to, I'd gladly be his makeup artist (and girlfriend) everywhere he went and not just Seattle. I also briefly wondered how I felt about dating a rocker. I was sure he had a girl in every city. But wait, if he had time to fall in love with me while he was gone, had he even been with anyone? I shook my head and enjoyed the rest of the show. I snapped to just in time to see Edward kneeling on the piano, wailing a huge guitar solo as he leaned back making his low-riding skinny jeans go even lower. I sucked in a breath and my eyes widened when he stood up and flew off the piano, his guitar flying through the air and out into the crowd. _Seriously_, people. There was not a creature on God's green Earth that was as fucking gorgeous as Edward Cullen.

Finally the concert was over and he high-tailed it off stage right toward me and I jumped into his arms, throwing my legs around his waist and wrapping his shirt behind his neck, pulling him closer to me. "I'd better get to keep this shirt," I joked before he kissed me, pushing his tongue into my mouth right away. I felt him chuckle, making every part of our bodies vibrate together.

"Your wish is my command, love," he said in that adorable fake British accent of his.

"Anything?" I whispered in his ear, nibbling gently on his lobe then blowing on the spot.

"Absolutely anything in the world, Bella," he promised, making me smile.

I wound my fingers more tightly into his hair and kissed him deeply again, but pulling away more quickly as I went back to his ear. "I'll hold you to that, Edward," I vowed.

He smirked mischievously as he put me down only to pull my back to his chest. He held me like that forever, even walking like that out to the limo we were taking to the after party. The only time he let go was for a grand total of two seconds to throw on a t-shirt. I had the feeling his reasoning for not letting go was two-fold. The first reason was that he simply didn't want to let go as much as I didn't want him to. The second was because he wanted to hide the boner that kept poking me in the back, effectively making me wetter than before each time.

We made it to the after party, which was conveniently being held at The Rave, the usual band being temporarily replaced by a D.J. We entered the club to the thumping music of the latest hip hop, of course. Edward pulled me to the dance floor immediately, making me laugh as I followed. "Edward you do know I can't dance, don't you?"

"Well," he said with that crooked smile of his. Damn him. "I could always make you." He pulled me close, his erection now pressed to my stomach.

"I'm sure you could make me do a lot of things, Edward," I breathed into his neck, causing him to growl. I felt the grumble from his noise against my stomach. That combined with the vibrations of everything else were enough to make me moan, which I did.

"Oh God, Bella," he choked out, pulling me even closer. "I've wanted you since the first second I saw you right here in this bar."

"Same here, Edward," I said, kissing his neck. "So why the hell did it take so long?"

He laughed huskily and kissed me, sucking my bottom lip between his own. "I'm prepared to take full responsibility."

"You'd better," I teased, running my tongue along his teeth then exploring the rest of his mouth. He tasted so fucking amazing I just had to wonder how the rest of him tasted. I pressed my hips closer to his, my hand sliding down his back to grip his perfect ass, making it his turn to moan.

"That's it," he said almost roughly as he pulled my leg up and wrapped it around his hip, still grinding me to the music. He pulled my head up, which had fallen back at the new contact he'd made with my leg in that position, speaking low in my ear. "I've waited six years to make love to you, Bella, and I can't wait anymore." He took a deep breath then spoke again. "Actually, you could say I've been waiting my whole life."

I pulled back to look him in his beautifully piercing green orbs and smiled wide. "I guess you could say I have too," I replied honestly.

"You too?" he asked, blushing even over the heat that was already in his face from dancing.

I nodded and pressed a kiss to his pulse point. "I never wanted anyone but you after that first time I saw you here. So I never had anyone else."

The smile he flashed me in response was absolutely heartbreaking at the same time that it turned me completely on. Edward Cullen: Rock star and virgin extraordinaire. I kissed him urgently then, not able to hold back any longer. Twenty-five years was quite long enough, thank you. How he'd managed having all those groupies and fans was beyond me. But I'd never been more flattered.

**EPOV**

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to admit that I was nervous when I admitted to the woman I loved that I was a rock star virgin. Who the hell had ever heard of one of those? I'd won a fucking Grammy and I was a virgin.

I detached her leg from my hip and put my arm around her waist, leading her to a VIP room down a small hallway. I pulled out my wallet and slipped the attendant two hundred dollars to keep away everyone for an hour. "You got it, Mr. Cullen," he replied.

I thanked him and led Bella inside. She walked forward, touching the velvety black and purple cushions that were everywhere before looking back at me, smiling and wiggling her finger for me to come closer. Yes ma'am.

I walked eagerly towards her and pulled her to me, lacing my fingers with hers by our thighs as I began our slow kisses again, letting them slowly build until she sought entrance with her warm wet tongue. That was all it took for me to kiss her hungrily, walking her backwards and down onto a cushion.

"You know I don't love you only because of your fame, Edward, but you looked so fucking hot on stage tonight. And when I saw you going up for your Grammy, I was so proud, but all I could think about was hopping through the glass of my television and going down on you right on stage," she whispered in his ear as she clutched my upper arms, drawing me closer to her.

**BPOV**

He pressed his hips into me, his hard length poking me in the stomach. His hands trailed lightly down my sides, tracing the line between my shirt and jeans before sliding under the blue fabric of my shirt and cupping my matching lace bra. I bit my lip and shuffled my legs, trying to create some sort of friction.

He chuckled and ignored that, which I assumed must be some kind of bizarre torture. He kissed across each of my collar bones, and along the line of my bra, teasing me endlessly. "Bella, I dream about you like this every night. And in turn I wake up thinking about you every morning."

I moaned at his words and rubbed my legs together again. "Patience, Bella Mia," he sang in a whisper, emitting a long, soft sigh from me.

He kissed down my stomach before reaching to pull his own shirt off which joined mine somewhere a few feet away from us. His rippling chest muscles descended back toward me as he leaned on his forearms. I put my hands on his back and felt his shoulder blades sticking out. I reached farther around and ran the tips of my fingers gently over his vampire tattoo, then sent one of my hands down to the arm with his lion tattoo to run it over that. "I fucking love your tattoos, Edward. They're so sexy on you."

I pushed up on his chest and successfully flipped him over so I was straddling his waist. I kissed down his chest, my hair tickling his sides. I stopped to twirl my tongue around his nipples, and then ran my tongue up and down each valley between his chest and ab muscles.

Taking advantage of my back not being pressed to the floor, he ran the backs of his hands up my sides with a feather-light touch while his fingers ghosted across my back and unclasped my bra like he'd been doing it for years.

"Virgin, huh?" I teased with a laugh.

"I've just fucking fantasized about you so much it felt like I'd done it before," he admitted shamelessly as he rolled me back over.

"Oh, that's hot," I breathed as I clawed at his back, pressing him desperately closer to me as I rubbed up against him, this time using him for friction instead of my own legs.

"Fuck, Bella," he groaned and massaged my now-exposed tits, bending down to suckle each one lovingly and attentively while never neglecting the other as he used his hands to roll my nipple between his calloused guitar-playing fingers.

I bit my lip and tilted my head back as my fingers dug deeper into the angel's wings inked on his back. I couldn't stand the jeans anymore. My hands wound to his front, exploring his muscles until I reached his belt buckle. I fumbled with it for only a second before it was unbuckled and it didn't take much longer for the button and zipper to be undone and his pants made their way across the room when he kicked them off.

**EPOV**

There was no way I'd let her get away with wearing more clothes than me. I slid my tongue easily into her mouth that was slightly open and massaged the roof of her mouth then met her tongue in a fight for dominance, all the while making easy work of her jeans and helping her pull them all the way off and onto the floor.

Her underwear matched everything else, blue lace boy shorts. I ran my hands slowly up her outer thighs, switching to the inside as I neared the top. "The heat's just radiating from you, Bella," I told her when my hands stopped, my thumbs less than an inch away from the place I wanted to be the most.

Her eyelids fluttered and her eyes rolled back in her head as I teased her. Adding to it, I bent down and blew cold air on her hot pussy. She grabbed my hair and yanked my head up to meet her face. If she thought I was done teasing her she had another thing coming.

I kept kissing her, my hands never touching her panties, though they were everywhere else: her waist, her breasts, her neck, hair and thighs. I purposely rubbed my cock still covered by my boxer/briefs up her covered slit just once. She moaned and growled at the same time in frustration and bit her lip to keep from screaming.

"You fucking like it when I tease you, don't you? You've been a fucking cock tease since I've known you, Bella Swan."

"Fine, then let it stay that way," she said with a smirk. "I mean, since you continue to be the cunt tease that you are."

Fuck me.

I closed my eyes for a moment then kissed her again, my hands massaging her breasts. While my dick poked her soft stomach, my balls rubbed against the spot her clit would be if I wasn't mistaken.

"JESUS, EDWARD!" Nope. I wasn't mistaken at _all._

I smiled to myself, once again satisfied at her sexual frustration. She'd thank me for it later.

I backed up away from her to pull my underwear down my legs and I nearly exploded at what I saw when I looked up at her. In the split second that I'd looked away, she'd spread her legs and her hand was on its way down her stomach, then inching slowly into her panties. This must be my punishment for being a cunt tease.

I heard her moan as she slipped a finger inside herself and twirled it around. Well I couldn't be sure that's what was happening. I had to know for sure. I just had to. I reached up toward her and pulled her underwear quickly down her legs and bringing them to my face, smelling her sweet juices on them as I watched her.

Yes, she was definitely twirling her right middle finger around in her dripping wet folds. Her left hand came down and started massaging her clit, slowly at first, then faster and faster and faster. Her right hand matched its rhythm and soon her hips did too. This had to be the sexiest fucking thing I'd ever seen in my worthless life. At least, my life that was worthless until this very moment.

Her hips were gyrating to the rhythm that her fingers were setting and she was starting to moan. "Mmm, Edward," she was saying softly. Somehow my hand found its way to my throbbing shaft and was pumping as furiously as Bella's fingers in her own cunt. I watched her fragile body shudder and contract as she came from her own hand. I followed quickly after, my cum shooting to her stomach. I immediately bent down and pulled her fingers from herself and licked up her slippery lips, tasting every drop of her cum. When I was finished, I licked off her fingers.

"I can't lie, Bella," I whispered as I tried to catch my breath and looked up, "I've wanted to see my jizz all over your stomach since I saw your perfect face watching me sing that night in this building six years ago."

"Mmm," she sighed, her head tilting to the side as she took the same hand I'd just licked and wiped my cum off her stomach and bringing it to her mouth, probably tasting a mixture of her and me. "Salty," she moaned quietly. "So good."

"Bella," I said quietly. "You said my name when you were fingering yourself…why?"

She smiled softly and reached up to stroke my cheek. "Habit. It's always your name I scream when I make myself come, Edward."

"Well this time, I'll be the one to make you come and you can still scream my name," I promised.

I'd already gotten harder as I licked her folds, but watching her taste me sent me over the edge and I was stiff again.

I reached down and rubbed her clit for her in slow, sensual circles, occasionally pinching the bundle of nerves between my thumb and forefinger trying to make her wetter again. I stroked the tip of my cock against her opening a couple of times until it felt slicker. "You ready for me, baby?" I asked gently.

She nodded contently. "Yes, please, Edward. Please make love to me."

Make love. Absolutely. The hardcore, dirty foreplay was over for the night. I needed to worship the woman I've loved since I saw her. I leaned down and kissed her sweetly, deepening it little by little as I pressed my tip to her.

I looked down at her and she pressed her hands to my butt, pushing me inside her slowly. Her silky, wet insides were even better than I'd ever imagined. I could stay sheathed in her heaven forever and never need to come down from the highest of all highs.

I pushed past her barrier and stayed perfectly still just reveling in the all-around feel of her until she sighed in contentment, letting me know that the pain had subsided. She spread her legs farther for me as I started to move in and out slowly and fully.

I kept pacing it like that for a while, just reveling in the feeling of finally being one with Bella. At one point I saw her look down and her face just glowed, her eyes bright and a wide smile on her face. I looked down too and saw what made her so blissful. I watched my own hard length move inside her soft, wet core and felt more complete than I ever had in my entire life. No amount of Grammys or platinum records could compare to the way my heart exploded in my chest at that exact moment. I leaned back as far as my spine would let me to get a better view. I ended up on my knees, holding her up by her back. With her legs wrapped around me there wasn't much room for movement, but just seeing us together was enough for the moment. She took my hand in hers and brought them down to gently touch the spot where we met, tears forming in her eyes.

I brought her face to mine with my free hand and kissed her tears. I felt like a fool, her eyes reminding me I was still wearing that stupid eyeliner during the most intimate moment of my life. I reached up to wipe it off, releasing her cheek and she stopped me with her only free hand as our other hands were still touching the spot where her beautiful warmth met my penis.

"Don't," she whispered. "It'll stay in my memory this way and someday when we're old and grey and watching Wheel of Fortune together I'll remember my sexy rock star that took my virginity while I took his."

God, she was perfect. "I love you, Bella," I said as I kissed her gently, laying her back down.

"I love you too, Edward, so much," she sighed as I started moving in and out again. I kept our hands touching where we met for extra friction as that same thumb went up to rub her clit again. She lifted her hips to me and I moved in at a little faster pace, but mostly I still made love to her tenderly, letting my thumb do the work that would bring her to her orgasm. I pinched and teased her clit while my free hand rubbed circles on her nipple, my elbow supporting me to her side. Finally I felt her walls clench around me and saw her abdominal muscles tighten.

"I'm almost there, Edward," she said quietly, sweetly almost if it weren't for the erotic way we were still touching ourselves.

"Come for me, love," I begged her, still rubbing furiously.

And as if my words were what sent her over the edge she shuddered around me, screaming my name so loudly I was sure the entire bar could hear it over the loud DJ music.

Knowing everyone could probably hear was my undoing and I exploded inside her as I shouted her name at the top of my lungs.

I rested my head on her chest, still inside her. "I'll go get the pill first thing in the morning," she said with a laugh as I remembered that both of us had been too caught up to remember.

"Very good plan, love," I agreed, using that British accent she loved again.

As was my goal, she giggled and kissed my forehead.

**BPOV**

I was definitely going to make some sort of arrangement to go with Edward on tour. Being away from him now was out of the question.

As if he could read my mind he said, "I can't go on tour without my girlfriend, Bella. I'd love if you would come with me, but if not I'll just cancel the whole thing."

_What?! Cancel? _No, I had to go with him. I couldn't let the potential demise of the greatest rock band (at least from my biased perspective) be my fault. The Irritable Mountain Lions would stay on tour. I would find a way. "I'll find a way, Edward. I need to be there to beat groupies to a pulp when they try to touch my man." _Yes, Bella, _now_ he's your man._

He pulled out of me and pulled me close as I reached over and pulled his beater to me that I'd been carrying with me since the show. "Maybe I should frame this." I suggested jokingly as I rubbed the beautiful tattoo on his back with one hand.

"I was hoping you would, Bella," he answered with a laugh, then spoke more seriously. "I only wear it for every show because the first time I wore it I met you. I'm glad you're keeping it because I won't need the good luck shirt with me when I've got what made it my good luck shirt with me."

**Author's Note: **If you read, please review. It's just polite, okay? Thanks! Luffles you all!!!! ::cuddles her readers:: You guys are fabuloso. If you're one of those people who just went to the website, browsed for Books, then Twilight and chose Romance, M rated, 1,000 words, Edward/Bella and Complete stories and came across me by accident, then check out my other stories!!!! Finally, thank you to orlisgirl04 for all the ideas and helping me decide on his tattoos, etc.!

P.s. The review button is huge and rectangular now ::points down at it::


	2. Chapter 2: The Debutante

**Chapter Two**

**The Debutante**

**BPOV**

That night, I was completely high. I was floating on clouds of endless kisses, glances, touches, and sweet nothings being whispered into each others ears. Six years of this back and forth bull shit and finally he was mine. Edward was mine, all mine. We made love twice before we left the VIP room at The Rave. Okay, fine, the second time was more of a fuck after the emotional experience that was both our first times. But the third time, we were back to exploring and worshiping each other's bodies. I obviously had no idea how it felt for him, but for me, it felt like every time I discovered an un-kissed part of him it was like I turned another page in his book, revealing his next secret, unfolding his story.

Three hours later it was two o'clock in the morning and we had finally wrenched ourselves apart from one another to get dressed and go back out to the party that was still raging on. I had my back to Edward as I slid my jeans back up my legs, the dorkiest smile on my face. I ran my fingers through my long hair, trying my best to straighten it out as I turned back around to face him, only to find him staring at me with an identical dorky smile.

I laughed and walked to him, wrapping my arms around his neck while he secured his around my waist, then lifting me two inches off the floor to kiss me. I kept the kiss meaningful but short and he groaned when I pulled away and squirmed back down to my feet. "Sorry!" I said as I laced my fingers through his. "But if we don't get out of here now, we never will."

"So?" he asked innocently, despite the devilish smile on his beautiful face.

I rolled my eyes playfully and love-tapped his cheek. "So, actually, I'm pretty hungry," I told him.

For some reason completely hidden to me, his face was overcome with guilt as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped a bit. "Oh shit, Bella," he said quietly, "you should have told me. No, I should have known you'd be hungry, you probably haven't eaten in about eight hours."

I kissed him lightly for his ego's good measure and smiled up at him. "There's just no need for the drama, Miss Thang. It's just food, and it's my responsibility to feed myself, not yours. If I had wanted to eat I would have told you so."

He smirked now, his playfulness back. "Miss Thang? And are you telling me you would have admitted you were hungry and stopped what we've been doing for the last few hours?" He raised his eyebrows confidently and I let out a sarcastic snort.

"Yes, Miss Thang, that's what I said." I smiled and started walking out of the VIP room while he followed me as our fingers still weaved together. Our hands fit together perfectly, just like every other part of us, and I do mean every part. I continued as we walked. "And no, I wouldn't have wanted to stop, but it's still not your fault."

He shook his head, conceding, and walked me back into the bar. We weaved through the warm bodies, hands never parting for even a split second as Edward searched the crowd, probably for Emmett and Jasper. A few girls gave Edward looks of lust and some just looked like they were debating asking for his autograph. There was one girl, though, with long blonde hair who looked like she wanted to ask him for something else entirely. I shot her a fierce glare and "accidentally" stomped on her foot on the way past. "So sorry!" I shouted back in passing, my eyes narrowing in a warning to her in all her T and A glory.

Edward heard me and turned to look at who I was talking to. I was about to push him forward to keep walking. He didn't need to be a witness to my immaturity, because to be honest I was rather embarrassed that I'd let a simple look get to me like that. Who was I kidding besides myself? Edward probably got looks like that all the time; hell, he probably got more than looks. But when I put my hand on his arm to move him along, he had just seen who I was talking to and I could have sworn I saw an actual glint in his eye as he smirked maliciously. He looked right at her then pulled me close to him, one hand on my lower back, the other behind my neck. I knew immediately that he'd seen this girl before and was probably trying to get a point across. This was a point I had no problem with him trying to make; I wanted to make it just as badly. Edward was mine. He spoke softly in my ear, something I knew she couldn't hear and he wanted only me to hear, before making a crude public display of affection. "I love you so much, Bella, through this life and into the next," he said before kissing my ear sweetly. He pulled back slightly to look in my eyes and I parted my lips with a small smile, somehow just knowing what he wanted to do. He brushed his fingertips over my cheeks from my chin to my hairline, winding his fingers in my hair and gripping it tightly as his face moved closer to mine deliberately, giving the blonde a good profile view. His tongue beat the rest of his mouth to my mouth, showing the bitch exactly what he was doing to me. I pushed my tongue out to meet his, tangling them in mid-air as my hands went to his perfect ass, squeezing gently. Our lips finally met and he won the silent battle as his tongue molded to the inside of my mouth.

We kissed like that for a good long while and when we finally broke apart, I felt not only the blonde's eyes on me, but the eyes of everyone in the bar. I knew exactly what they were all thinking, too. _Who is this nobody kissing Edward freaking Cullen? That lucky little _whore! The weirdest part of the whole experience was finding that I liked the attention. It was very unlike me to be fond of any sort of attention whatsoever, but I was more than ready to show the world who exactly Edward belonged to now.

I wrapped my arms tight around his neck, my hands reaching all the way to the opposite elbow. "Can we forget about the food for just a bit?" I asked. "Oh, and I love you, too, by the way," I added with a smile spreading across my face.

He chuckled and kissed my nose. "I think that would be alright as long as your stomach doesn't start eating itself as compensation." His left hand slid down from my neck to my waist and he started to move to the music still being played by the jockey.

I loosened my arms slightly and gripped the back of his neck as he ground his hips to mine during a faster song. "This one's for the lovers in the room," the DJ said as he slowed it down.

I looked up at Edward when I heard the song, but he looked just as confused as to how the DJ got a copy of "Permanent," the song they had debuted at the concert that had written for me. We looked up do the DJ booth and came to an immediate understanding. "Alice," I said at the same time that he said, "Jasper."

He had his arms around her as he usually did. But all the other times, it had just been kind of a fun little fling when they were both in town. This didn't quite look like that. It didn't look as intense as what Edward and I were going through, but they were definitely looking more like a couple than they had in the past. I jotted down to ask Alice about that later on an imaginary Post-It in the corner of my brain.

I brought my thumb back to stroke Edward's cheek, our faces serious and our eyes alight with the fiercest type of love as we looked at each other. I stood on my toes to kiss him sweetly a couple of times in a row. One of his hands grazed up my back to stroke my hair as he crooned with the song, "Rest your head, I'm permanent," he sang as I followed his directions, my head going down to lay on his chest as I pulled his upper back closer to me. I could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he held me pressed to him. I smiled as I felt the two lumps in the front of his pants. The one off to my left was the black tank top crumpled in his pocket as he held onto it for me. The other was more centered between our bodies and I pressed my hips into it making him groan.

"Wait, babe," he pleaded huskily. I laughed lightly and released the pressure, kissing his chin. Fine, I could wait, but as soon as we got to the hotel or wherever we were going, he was mine. He'd explained earlier that he was staying at a hotel rather than at home because of a tour contract of some sort. That was fine with me; we could be more alone at a hotel.

The song ended and I pulled back, keeping his hand, my other hand patting my stomach. He laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. "Let's say 'bye to everyone," he suggested as I nodded.

I wrapped my arm around his waist and we weaved our way to where Alice and Jasper were standing. I reached out with my free arm to hug her, and she hugged me awkwardly back as Edward's arm never left me while he shook Jasper's hand, then patted Emmett on the back.

We finally made our way out of the club and into the misty Seattle night…well, fine, morning. Seeing as it was two thirty in the morning, there weren't many people out on the street, so we weren't ambushed by Edward's adoring fans. He led me to the limo, and after holding the door open for me and following me inside he politely instructed the driver to take us through the twenty-four-hour McDonald's down the street.

The driver nodded and Edward pushed the button to close the divider between the front seat and the back. I sat on the long seat lining the side of the stretch limo and Edward sat next to me, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"Tired?" I asked as I kissed the top of his head. He had to have been exhausted after their incredible concert and making love three times.

He nodded, his hair tickling my cheek as he did so. "Lay down," I requested softly as I tapped my palm on my leg.

I felt his jaw move into a smile against my shoulder and he slid down the seat and rested his head on my lap and crossed his ankles at the end of the seat, looking up at me. I traced his face with my fingers lightly and twisted my hair behind my neck, holding it there with my right hand to lean down and touch my nose to his.

"I love you," he said with a content sigh. God, I could hear that every day of my life and never get sick of it. It churned my insides in the most wonderful way to know I made him feel so comfortable and just happy. I wanted nothing more than for him to know I felt the same way. To know that not only would I not have to be apart from him anymore, but that there'd be no more longing for him, but only satisfying that longing that I had for so long. To think…just this morning, I woke up having no idea any of this would happen. I knew I'd be seeing him, of course, and I was thrilled. But the most I'd expected to end the day with was maybe a peck on the cheek and a night to store in my happy Edward memories. This was, to say the least, the epitome of happy Edward memoires.

I moved my face down a couple inches to kiss his lips sideways which he smiled at. "I love you, too," I said, smiling against his perfect lips. I loved his lips more than chocolate and for me, that was saying something.

We felt the slow bumps as the front, then the back tires went over the parking lot entrance to McDonald's. "What would you like, love?" Edward asked, sitting up.

I thought for a moment and replied, "I'm gonna have to go with the chicken nuggets meal."

"Honey and diet Coke, right?" he asked.

Did he remember everything about me? "Good memory," I complimented as I nodded and smiled.

He flashed that famous crooked smile and kissed my temple before moving in a carefully crouched position to the front of the car to give the driver the money and our orders, ordering a Big Mac for himself.

Less than five minutes later we were pulling away from the McDonald's, the employees leaning out the drive-thru window trying to figure out who was in the limo. Edward indulged them and rolled down the window, giving them a polite wave and smile.

I couple of them gasped dramatically, and even the guys looked a bit star struck. Most of the girls, however, looked completely miffed that I was in the back with him. I smiled shyly and Edward grabbed my hand tightly, rolling the window back up. "Sorry," he said as he kissed my knuckles, "but I always hated not knowing who was in the back of the limo when I was younger."

I laughed and nodded in agreement. "I did as well," I admitted.

He handed me my bag and we sat sideways on the seat, spreading our food out between us. "McDonalds, romantic," he joked.

"Hey, I love my chicken nuggets," I said seriously.

"I'll take you on a real date," he vowed. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"I was," I said, accepting the date with an embarrassingly gigantic smile crossing my face.

He leaned over to kiss me lightly. He opened his Big Mac box and a look of concentration crossed his face. I guessed he was trying to make plans for tomorrow, but I wouldn't ask.

* * *

**EPOV**

This night turned out better than I ever could have imagined. I'd been planning to play "Permanent" for Bella at the concert, but never in the deepest recesses of my imagination could I have dreamed that she would have reciprocated with what seemed to be an equal amount of love.

I knew beyond any form of doubt that waiting twenty-five years to be with a woman was the perfect choice for me. I loved that I was able to give myself to Bella so fully, and I was selfishly grateful that she'd allowed me to be her first as well. It was incredibly sappy, but wasn't that allowed when I'd just had the best fucking night of my life? Pun intended.

I absolutely hated having to let the first meal I shared with her as a couple be McDonald's, but it was the quickest way to fill both our empty stomachs. But she had agreed to a real date tomorrow night, our last night in Seattle before we set out on our quick-paced tour. I knew there was no way she'd be ready to come on tour with me after just a day and that she'd have to fly out and meet us somewhere in a week or so, maybe even more. It would be horrible being apart from her, but hey, we'd done it before, right?

As I chewed my Big Mac, the focus of my vision was entirely Bella, and the way she managed to make eating chicken nuggets look delicate and sexy at the same time. The most torturous part was the honey as she stretched it up from the dipping cup to rid of excess honey so it wouldn't leave a trail across her lap on the way to her mouth.

Some how I'd managed to stay focused on the planning of our date tomorrow night. But when that stray drop of honey managed to not make it all the way into her mouth, I knew it was hopeless. I leaned forward, and stretched my hand out to the back of her neck, pulling her closer.

"Let me get that for you," I whispered as I darted my tongue out to scoop up the honey and pulled her bottom lip into my mouth.

Her soft moan should have pressed me further, but I used it as a golden opportunity to tease her. Besides, I had the strong suspicion that the Big Mac, two all beef patties-special sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun taste in my mouth wasn't exactly the type of leftovers one liked to taste.

I chuckled at the pout she'd formed on her face and kissed her lips once more softly. "I don't mind tasting your chicken nuggets, but my Big Mac doesn't exactly have the best taste after already being chewed."

She just rolled her eyes as she shook her head and laughed, going back to eating her chicken nuggets, leaving my mind free to plot the big night as I polished off my fries and Coke.

Just as we were both finishing up, the driver pulled up to the hotel. Taking all the garbage in one hand, and Bella's hand in my other, I led her up to the hotel, tossing the bag in the large trash can outside before heading inside.

I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arm tight around Bella's shoulder as a few female fans approached us. But a few turned into several, and I looked down at Bella apologetically. "I'm so sorry, love," I told her. "I can get rid of them if you want."

"Oh, no, no, Edward," she assured me, "I know I would have been pissed if I was their age and my favorite rock star blew me off to go bang a chick in his hotel room."

I laughed, causing her to flash a smile that melted my heart before I kissed her forehead. "There's just one thing different about that, Bella. You're so much more than just some chick."

She simply kissed my cheek and stood by my side while I signed autograph after autograph, and the fans kept pouring in, probably hearing rumors throughout the hotel that we were staying here and that I'd arrived with some girl. One of them actually realized that Bella was the girl from my Grammy speech and that the song was for tonight and congratulated us, wishing us well. Her name was Angela and seemed to be a college student. I took extra care to write her a more heartfelt message than all the other monotonous fans, and thanked her much more adamantly. Bella even hugged her in thanks for her sweetness.

Just as my hand was starting to cramp up, another fan gave us all the more reason to bolt. I'd noticed her trying to push her way through the crowd before she even made it up to us, and the second she was within my clear view, she handed me a Sharpie, and lifted her shirt, bra and all, asking me to sign her chest. I'd been asked to sign bras before, and had always dutifully obliged, but this was beyond outrageous, and I gave her a disgusted look.

"Are you serious?" I asked as I shoved the Sharpie back in her hand. "What kind of self-righteous person actually asks someone to sign their tit?" Harsh? Yes, of course. Deserved? Absolutely.

At this point, she'd thankfully taken the cue and pulled her shirt back down. "I mean, thank you for your support and everything, but you're sorely mistaken if you think I'm that kind of rock star. That's just not how Irritable Mountain Lions are." I looked up to the rest of the crowd and raised my voice so they could all hear me. "I'm sorry, everyone, but we're done here for the night. Thank you all so much for coming and have a good night."

With that, I put my arm back around Bella and led her to the elevators while a few body guards and some hotel security kept the fans from following us to my suite.

Once we were safely in the elevator I pushed her up against the wall, knowing we had a good twenty floors before we had to get off, and kissed her deeply. I used my hips to push her further against the wall, my hands on either side of her head. Her hands found their way to my ass, pulling me ever closer and I groaned into her mouth. "I'm so sorry about that, love," I said in my fake British rocker accent that she loved.

"It's fine, Edward," she promised. "You forget that I've seen this all before." She laughed and reached up to stroke my cheek with the back of her hand, and I found myself leaning into her heavenly touch.

"I just hope you realize what you're agreeing to by being my girlfriend, Bella." I turned my face to kiss her palm softly. "It's a crazy life, and I only want what will make you happy."

"Edward Anthony," she said with a smirk as she used my middle name. That was something I told her a few years back that I really wished I'd kept to myself. Although, if Bella was willing to be by my side, she could call me "Shit Head" and I'd probably be weak in the knees. "If you're suggesting that you'd give up what you do just to make me happy, you're officially out of your mind."

Of course, I really would do that, but I guess she wouldn't need to know that unless the situation presented itself. Instead, I just shook and kissed her lips softly, unsure of what to say. But I was saved by the bell as the elevator dinged, indicating our floor.

I pulled her up onto my back, lacing my fingers under her ass behind my back while she wrapped her arms around my neck. I craned my neck around to kiss her as I walked down the hall, pulling away only so I could see where I was going. When I looked ahead, I saw someone I wasn't expecting to see at all.

I hadn't seen her since I was seventeen and she was eighteen, and she'd made a huge mess of life for all of us. She was the absolute last person I was expecting to see right now, and I had a feeling she'd only come back because she was in trouble and knew I was rich.

She stood up when she saw us coming, and looked down at her feet, probably ashamed that I wasn't alone and she was seen by Bella, a stranger, sitting outside my hotel room door.

"Edward, hi," she said softly, looking up at me as I put Bella down, taking her hand.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, okay, I know. You probably all totally forgot about this story, and I apologize immensely!! I just had major writers' block, but I think I have a couple of ideas how to lace the next chapters together. So hopefully the next ones will bring on ideas for more chapters. I honestly have no idea at this time how long this story will be since it was originally just supposed to be a one shot. I just got so many requests for a continuation that I couldn't help myself. **

**If you guys have any suggestions of what you'd like to see happen, I'll be happy to consider all of them and I'll PM you if I'm interested.**

*****Who is the mystery woman waiting outside Edward's door?!?!*****


	3. Chapter 3: Forgiveness is a Simple Word

**Chapter Three**

**Forgiveness is a Simple Word**

**EPOV**

"What are you doing here?" I demanded of her, gripping Bella's hand for the strength she probably didn't even realize I needed, let alone know why.

"I'm sorry, Edward," she said, still quiet. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see."

"Well congratulations. Maybe you're not as dumb as everyone thought you were. But if you're not dumb, then you're just a bitch who knew perfectly well what she was doing when she left."

"Edward, please," she pleaded. "Won't you at least hear me out?"

I simply stared at her for a moment before deciding to give her the chance to explain herself, but I sure as hell wasn't going to give her any pleasantries about it. I opened the door to the suite, letting Bella enter before me. Once we were all inside I shut the door pulled Bella close to my side.

"Bella, this is my sister, Rosalie," I told her quietly. "Rose, Bella, my reason for breathing."

"Ah, the famous Bella from the Grammys," Rose said with a small smile as she reached forward to shake Bella's hand.

I grimaced, but nodded when Bella glanced at me for a signal on what to do. She accepted Rose's hand and smiled genuinely. Of course I should have known Bella would give Rosalie an unbiased chance. "Edward never said anything about a sister," she said, explaining the look of confusion I saw on her face when I'd introduced Rose. And with the way she emphasized her words I knew I'd be hearing about it later.

Rosalie, however, simply chuckled whimsically and nodded. "No, I don't suppose he would have. Edward doesn't really like to think of me as his sister anymore, I'd imagine."

I interrupted her before she started making our family look like the bad guy and portray herself as the damsel in distress who just had to get away. "I'll explain our family's sordid history to Bella later, Rosalie. What is it that you came here for? Money?" I asked bluntly.

"Well not exactly," she said drawing out the A in exactly.

"Not _exactly_?" I mocked, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"Well," she said as she began twisting her fingers together on her lap, "okay, that's not it at all. I have plenty of money, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't make that your problem. Edward, you're my little brother and I'm so proud of you."

"Proud of me, Rose?" I blurted. "You couldn't have called me at some point in the last eight fucking years to tell me you were proud of me?"

"Edward, I…" she started, but I cut her off.

"No, Rose. Don't even start pulling that 'family' bull shit on me. You don't even know the meaning of the word family."

I looked up at her and noticed a tear rolling down her cheek. "Well, shit, Rose! What did you expect? We haven't heard 'boo' from you in eight years. Not even an e-mail to mom and dad."

This time she was the one who cut me off as I was taking a breath to continue my speech. "I know, Edward, I know."

"We had a good relationship before you abandoned us, Rose. None of us saw it coming. It broke my heart when my big sister just up and left to be a movie star."

"Oh!" Bella gasped, covering her mouth, causing me to look at her.

"Bella? Are you alright love?" I asked anxiously in her ear.

"Yeah, yeah," she said quickly, patting my knee. "Sorry, I just knew you looked familiar and I couldn't place you. It's Rosalie _Hale_ isn't it?"

I rolled my eyes at my sister's stage name and she blushed. "Yeah, I just…well, I never told anyone this was why I got a stage name, but I guess I always knew Edward would make it big and I didn't want him to be stuck having the same last name as the sister who 'abandoned' him," she explained bashfully, using air quotes on the word abandoned.

I scoffed at her word choice but let her continue uninterrupted.

"I knew he'd want his own career, untarnished by the fact that we were related, which the paparazzi would just eat up."

"So that's how I never knew, then, I suppose," Bella said, comprehension etched on her face.

Rosalie was definitely big enough to be considered a celebrity, and a lot of people knew her name, though she wasn't exactly a household name yet like Jennifer Aniston or anything. But as much as I resented her for leaving, she was talented and had a good life.

"Probably," Rosalie answered her kindly.

"So were you planning on telling me what you're actually doing here, Rose? And it better be good, because Bella and I have plans."

Rosalie took a deep breath, seeming to consider her answer before she looked up at me while Bella nudged me and whispered, "She's clearly upset, and no matter what she did, she's your sister. Be the bigger person, Edward."

As hard as it was for me to be optimistic when it came to anything involving Rosalie _Hale_, I trusted Bella's judgment, so I rephrased.

"Okay, I'm listening, and I'll…try…not to yell or anything about whatever it is you did that caused you to end up in front of my hotel room."

Rose lifted a hand to her cheek, wiping another stray tear and rubbed her hand on her jeans before looking up at me. "I'm sorry I came to you, and I know Mom would be open to accepting me but I'm not so sure about Dad. And back when you still loved me, you were my rock, Edward, even though you're a year younger than me. And I can see that other than how you feel about me, you haven't changed. I can see in Bella's face that you're that for her, too."

My eyes shifted down to Bella and I kissed her temple tenderly. "Well I'll try to be that for her, but she's always been mine," I said sincerely.

Bella put a comforting hand on my back, rubbing small circles over my vampire tattoo, and I looked up to see Rose smiling softly, truly looking like the sister I once knew.

"I'm so glad the two of you have each other now. I really mean it. You know, maybe you're right, maybe I shouldn't have come here." She started to get up and grabbed her purse from the couch next to her, slinging the thick strap over one shoulder.

But there was something in the look on her face that told me she sincerely wanted to be here, and it wasn't because she expected something out of us and needed a favor. Some brotherly instinct told me my sister was in trouble and had no one to turn to but her family. I knew perfectly well that sometimes the friends you made in show business weren't always exactly the life-long type.

I stood up, giving Bella's hand a squeeze before I went over to Rosalie and took her hand. "Wait, I'm sorry. It shouldn't matter how I feel or how upset I am with you. You're my sister and it shouldn't matter why you're here. Sit back down and I swear I'll listen."

She smiled gratefully and sat back down as I let her hand go, not wanting to overdo it by keeping her hand too long.

Rosalie sat back down, and I took my place back next to Bella who immediately put her hand on my back again. I was soothed by Bella's actions until I noticed Rosalie smirking at my face. "What?" I asked. "I could always change my mind and make you leave."

At my unnecessary harshness, she looked back down at her lap, seemingly retreating into her shell. Bella, however, turned my face so she could see it and laughed. "I think she was just finally noticing you still have your eyeliner on. Come on, I'll help you take it off so you don't get makeup remover in your eye."

"Oh…well, shit," I muttered. "I'm sorry, Rose. I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's fine, Edward, I should have known we weren't back to the joking stage. Go clean up, I won't go anywhere."

"That's what you told me when I was five and had nightmares. If only I would have known you only meant you wouldn't go anywhere just that night. How naïve of me to think you meant forever," I said quietly as I led Bella to the bathroom.

She closed the door behind her and immediately wrapped me in her arms, her small frame trying to hold me as close as she could. "Calm down, baby," she whispered. "I know you're upset with her, but didn't you miss her deep down?" Bella moved her hands to my face, and mine joined hers, holding them there.

"I know," I muttered into her hair as I pressed my cheek to her chocolate locks, breathing her in, almost immediately feeling comforted. "I'm really trying. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her."

"Don't worry about it," she replied, kissing the corner of my lips softly before reaching over to her makeup bag and pulling out a cleansing cloth that looked incredibly girly. "I totally understand why you didn't; you don't have any explaining of yourself to do. I'd just like to hear more about it all sometime."

I nodded while she began wiping at my face gently with the soapy cloth. I moved my hands to her hips and closed my eyes while she worked. "I'll tell you as soon as she's gone. It's just kind of complicated."

"I'm sure I can keep up," she promised, causing the corner of my mouth to turn up into a smile.

"I love you so much, Bella Mia," I whispered, flexing my fingers gently on her hips.

She finished up on my face and I opened my eyes. "I love you too," she said as she stood on her toes to kiss me. "There's my Edward," she laughed, commenting on my makeup-free eyes and kissing me once more. "Just as sexy as the one with eyeliner."

This time I was the one to lean down to kiss her, parting her lips with my tongue as her tongue met mine in a brief yet meaningful kiss. "We better go back out, hmm?" I asked, lacing her fingers in mine as she nodded.

I led Bella back out to the couch and pulled her close to me on my right, my left hand playing with her right while her left arm was wrapped around my back once more. "Sorry that took so long, Rose. Tell me what's going on now," I urged. I knew my last comment probably made her a little awkward, so it took her a moment to be able to look me in the eye.

"Last month I…" she started, wringing her hands together while she seemed to find the right words to say.

"Go on," I pressed. "I'll keep my jackass mouth shut, I promise."

"Well I went to the doctor and I…I found out I have…I have…I have breast cancer," she said, getting ever quieter until she was whispering at the end.

My breath caught in my chest and I felt Bella's hand stop on my back but she squeezed my hand tighter. The one thing I had told Bella was that my mother was a cancer survivor. Actually, she didn't go into complete remission until after I'd met Bella for the first time when we were nineteen. Inspired by my mother's struggle, Irritable Mountain Lions always gave a hefty donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and last year we'd even participated in the Race for the Cure.

I did the only thing that it came into my mind to do after I'd at least partially recovered from my shock. With only a little nudge from Bella, I quickly got off the couch and walked over to the opposite sofa and pulled Rosalie into my arms, stroking her hair the way I used to do when she got dumped when she was a sophomore in high school, or when we'd sit at home late at night waiting for Mom to get back from chemo, both of us upset.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Bella get up quietly and go into the bedroom to give us privacy.

"Rose, Jesus, I'm sorry. I wish you would have blurted it out right away and prevented me from being a complete dick in a box."

She laughed and hugged me tighter as she laid her head on my shoulder. "I deserved every word you said to me, Edward. In fact, I expected worse. But now you know, I'd really rather not talk about this a whole ton. I'll just answer your questions before you can ask them," she said, pulling back to look at me. "First of all, they did find it really early and they think chemo and possibly a bit of radiation should do the trick. Yes, my fans will know, and no, I haven't told Mom and I was hoping you would come with me when I do. I know it's a long shot but I…"

I cut her off again. "Rose," I said, holding her face gently. "There's no way in hell I'd turn my back on you right now, no matter how much it hurt when you left." I smirked and dropped my hands before saying, "Besides, you're gonna have a whole lifetime to make it up to me."

She laughed again and kissed my cheek. "Well I'll start now by apologizing again. I'm so sorry, Edward and there's absolutely nothing I could do or say that would appease even myself. I deserve the world's worst sister award, and you can be damn sure I'm gonna fight this thing, even if it's only so I have a chance to make it up to you, Mom, and Dad. I'm kind of living that Tim McGraw song right now."

"You better fight it," I said, feeling a lump in my throat rising, but pushing it back down. I needed to be here for her. I couldn't show her anything I was feeling, but I definitely felt a song coming on.

"Bring Bella back out here," she said with a smile. "I'd like to get to know her if she has my brother this reeled in."

I kissed her forehead and went over to the bedroom, knocking softly. "Bella, love," I called, putting on my fake British accent again.

After a couple of seconds she opened the door, a huge smile on her face, and she took my hand as I headed back to the couch. I sat on the end of the couch and Bella settled herself on my lap with her back to the armrest, her legs draping over mine while I absentmindedly rubbed my hand up and down her now-bare shins; she'd changed into cotton shorts when she went into the bedroom. I knew Rosalie might have felt a bit awkward, but my relationship with Bella was brand spankin' new and there was no way I'd take my hands off of her.

Rosalie asked about our relationship, and Bella was only too happy to explain things to her from the very second we met at The Rave. She'd just gotten to the part about our McDonald's date, very briefly mentioning the VIP room without going into any detail whatsoever, when the door to the suite burst open. I'd completely forgotten I left it unlocked.

Emmett walked in with his eyes covered, dramatically feeling around to make sure he didn't walk into anything. "Hey lovebirds, am I interrupting all the sexy time?" he shouted. I heard two more sets of footsteps bounding behind him down the hall before Jasper and Alice came bolting in, hand in hand.

"Dude, I'm sorry," Jasper announced, seeming glad to find us clothed and on the couch. But his expression shifted from relief to pure shock when he saw our company. "Holy fucking…" he muttered, clearly staggered.

Rosalie, however, barely noticed Jasper's comment. She was looking straight at Emmett, whose eyes were still closed. But when he finally noticed no one was laughing like we normally would have, he pulled his hand away, immediately concerned that the people who normally threw him a bone when it came to his jokes weren't laughing.

His eyes caught the blonde hair and darted to her like a moth to a flame. His face gave away that he was caught between a rock and a hard place, and wanting desperately to follow the siren's call. My eyes flashed quickly to Bella who hadn't moved from her position with her legs over my lap. Her eyes were wide as if she was watching an intense episode of "Days of Our Lives," and I had to admit that this was an incredibly soap opera-like situation: the long-lost sister returns, both brother and sister being famous now, only to reveal that she has breast cancer while the love of her life walks in the door and is struck dumb. All we needed now was to discover that Emmett was actually our brother who was thought to have died at birth and that he was head over heels in love with his dying sister.

I quickly whispered in her ear what was going on. "Emmett and Rosalie were totally in love before she just disappeared one day. She left a note on the front door of his parents' house saying she was leaving but that she'd never stop loving him, it was just something he had to do. There was also a box of his stuff with a note that said, 'I kept your Mariners sweatshirt, hope you don't mind. I just couldn't bear to part with it.'"

Bella's eyes searched my face for some indication that it was a joke, and I merely shook my head in response, my attention turning back to Emmett.

"Em…" Jazz tested, taking a step closer to him.

Emmett simply shook his head and put out a hand to stop Jasper from coming any closer. "I'm fine, Jazz," he assured, barely above a whisper.

"Well was it true?" he asked Rosalie from the same spot he'd been, near the door. "Did you ever stop?"

Everyone except Alice knew exactly what he meant by that question, but I saw Jasper lean over to whisper an explanation in her ear, the same way I'd just done for Bella. Did she ever stop loving him?

"Of course not, Em-Bear, not even for a second. The thought never even crossed my mind," she promised, unblinking.

The answer to her question, however, didn't seem to have any sort of profound effect on Emmett's demeanor. He was standing incredibly still, staring at her as if no one else was in the room, and she was doing the same. The only thing differing it from the classic movies where the whole world stopped around a pair of lovers, was that they were standing twenty feet apart and not smiling.

"Emmett…" Rosalie started, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I know there's nothing I could say to make it any…"

"…No, Rose, that's right. There's nothing you can say, and I'm honestly completely surprised that Edward forgave you as quickly as he did," Emmett finally snapped. "By the way, congratulations on making People Magazine's Top 10 Best Dressed multiple times over the past eight years. Quite the accomplishment, really."

Rosalie looked back down and brought a hand to her cheek to wipe the tear away.

But despite the tears, Emmett couldn't seem to stop himself. "I also hear you've been seen with some pretty top of the line A-listers, Rose. Kellan Lutz, nice job. Met him once…nice guy, actually."

"Hey!" Bella said excitedly. "That's the guy that always reminds me of…" She stopped herself, her finger pointed at Emmett, telling us all what she kept herself from saying. She burrowed down further, using me to hide her. "Shut up, Bella," she muttered.

I smirked and kissed her lightly. "It's okay, babe, I was thinking the same thing," I whispered, causing her to smile and actually stifle a small giggle.

I caught Rosalie's slight blush at Bella's statement, and wondered if there was possibly something to her seeing Kellan Lutz, like using him because he _did_ remind her so much of Emmett. "Nothing really happened with him, Emmett. Everyone I've gone out with it's never been more than like a one month thing. And I sure as hell didn't _love_ any of them."

"Okay, well let's say for argument's sake that that's true."

Rose cringed, taking the blow of his disbelief like a trooper, and it took a lot for me to hold my tongue.

There was a slight pause, but Emmett continued, a more melancholy look on his face now. "I saw every one of your movies, you know."

I looked up at him in shock, not knowing he'd ever been to even one of them. We'd always thought it would have hurt him too much. My parents and I had always gone, no matter how much we resented her leaving with hardly a goodbye or backward glance, but we always thought for sure Emmett wouldn't have been able to manage it.

"Well if we're confessing, I have one that's worse, well I suppose it depends how you look at it. I've been to every single one of your concerts whenever you've been in New York or L.A. at the same time as me. Once we were even in Dallas at the same time, and another time we were in Milwaukee, of all places. I figured out after the first time I went to one in New York that I had to wear big sunglasses so people wouldn't see me bawling like a baby. And the more famous you guys got, the more waterproof my makeup became. When I saw you at Madison Square Garden last year I cried so hard I choked on nothing." She smiled softly and looked around at the three of us guys. "My little brother with all the girls screaming his name and actually looking like a tried and true fucking rock star, quiet little Jasper who never managed more than a 'hello' to me when you guys practiced in our garage, and of course, Em-Bear you know I always loved watching you behind a drum set. It made my heart soar to see you so alive and happy up there."

Emmett, who had been looking down the entire time she spoke, finally looked up at her. "Alive? You just mean physically, right? Happy? Occasionally, for the two seconds of each day for the last eight years I got you off of my mind. I'll always love you, Rosalie Lillian Cullen, always. But I don't know what I'm supposed to do about forgiving my life for walking away from me."

"You don't have to forgive me, Emmett, I know that's a lot to ask of you and I wouldn't expect it. But do you think there's any way you could just tolerate me being around? I really just need to be home and near family right now."

"Why's that, Rose?" Emmett asked, crossing his arms and clearly preparing to leave. He got a smirk on his face that clearly looked like he was about to say something that amused even himself. I, however, knew him well and feared the danger of what he was about to say. "Paparazzi say you look fat this week? Need mommy to give you a hug so you can turn right around and break her heart again? Or is it that you need Daddy to put a few million dollars in your checking account and you want to cozy back up to him first?" He turned around and had his hand on the door and his back to us when Rosalie finally spoke, her voice miraculously unwavering.

"I'm dying, Emmett. I have breast cancer."

* * *

**Author's Note: Aren't you guys proud of me?!?! Two days in a row!! I had a few great ideas from a couple of readers, and I thank you many bunches!! You know who you are! Whether I'll use them for sure isn't a guarantee, but I still really appreciate the effort you guys put into thinking about them. **

**Let me know what you think! Was it what you expected?!**


	4. Chapter 4: Silence is All That You Left

**Author's Note:** Hey! I know, I know, it's been over a month. I'm sorry! ::cowers from angry readers:: Anyway, just a quick note, I've decided that each chapter title will by song lyrics or a song title. Last chapter was from "I Wonder" by Kellie Pickler and this chapter is from "These Four Walls" by Miley Cyrus.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

**Silence Is All That You Left**

**BPOV**

The time that Emmett's entire body remained motionless, his hand on the doorknob and in mid-step, was immeasurable. I could tell that everyone in the room wanted to do the same thing: speak up and tell him it was okay, that his reaction was natural and that no one expected him to forgive her instantly.

But we were all frozen much the same way he was. Rosalie was standing, her eyes never moving from the back of his head as she prayed for some sort of response to her blunt admission. The only sound was our breathing, and it was getting unbearable.

Just as I opened my mouth to utter soft words of comfort to one or both of them, Emmett broke the silence for me. His hand finished the motion of opening the door and he left, slamming it behind him.

Jasper, who I assumed had no real ill will toward Rosalie other than for hurting Edward's family and Emmett, walked across the room to hug her and tell her he was there if she needed anything and that it was good to see her. Rosalie whispered her thanks and Jasper nodded. "We're going after him to try and calm him down. Don't worry; I'm pretty sure he's just in shock."

Rosalie breathed a single-syllable laugh and shook her head while her arms crossed protectively in front of herself. "I'm almost positive he just hates the ground I walk on, Jazz. Try what you will but I don't expect much." She forced a small smile before Jasper hugged her once more.

Alice, being Alice, hugged Rosalie despite the fact that they were complete strangers. "I'm really sorry to hear about your cancer. I don't really understand what just happened here or…who you are really, but I just _know_ things will work out. I'm Alice, by the way," she announced before waving as Jasper dragged her off to help him find Emmett.

The three of us watched them go, the room turning silent again once the door was closed. I was still sitting with my legs draped over Edward's lap and his arm tightened around my waist making me look at him and we exchanged a brief glance before we both turned our attention to Rosalie.

She was still standing in the same position, just staring at the door like a puppy whose owner just left for the first time. We left her with her thoughts, hoping she would make the first move when she was ready. No such thing happened, however. Eventually, I kissed Edward's cheek, a silent request to stay put before I went up and wrapped my arms around Rosalie's shoulders. Not wanting to hold the embrace for too long, I pulled away holding her shoulders and quickly reached for a Kleenex on the coffee table to wipe her tear-stained cheeks.

Edward's voice to our side caused both of us to turn our heads. "Alice is psycho," was his profound statement, but at least it got a laugh out of Rosalie.

I rolled my eyes but laughed too and said, "I think you mean she thinks she's psychic, Lion."

He shook his head as he stood from the couch. "Right, she _thinks_ she's psychic. But I _know_ she's psycho." Rosalie laughed again and ruffled his hair as he neared us.

"Don't worry about me, you guys. I wasn't expecting anything immediate out of him. I'll just let him cool down and hopefully he'll give me the chance to grovel a bit."

"But—," Edward started before his sister cut him off. She and I both knew he was going to tell her she shouldn't have to grovel for his support. Maybe his forgiveness for her previous transgressions, but certainly not his support.

"No, Edward, really," she said before dropping her hand that she'd been holding in the air toward him and throwing her blonde curls into a quick ponytail. "He has every right. You're my brother. It's easier for you to go into protector mode when I announce that I have a life-threatening illness. I broke his heart. I smashed it into little pieces. I'm not expecting a single thing out of him."

Edward took a deep breath like he wanted to say something else, but refrained, making me smile and go back to him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

**EPOV**

I didn't agree with Rosalie's views on what had just happened with Emmett, but I had to respect how she wanted me to react to his response. I would let them work things out between the two of them and try to mind my own business as best as possible.

I'd always loved Rosalie, but over the past eight years, I just grew angrier with her with each week that passed. With each holiday that was left without a phone call, and each year that was left without a visit, my desire never to see her again just continued to pile higher and higher.

When I didn't say anything, Rosalie picked up her purse again and hugged both Bella and me. "I'm so sorry I interrupted your evening," she apologized with a soft smile.

"Rose, you don't have to leave," I protested, trying to grab her bag back from her, but she pried my hand off gently and laughed.

"I'm just going to get my own room, little brother. You and Bella don't need me intruding on your newfound love." She threw her duffel bag over her shoulder once she reached the place near the door where she'd left it.

"How about you, Alice and I go to the hotel spa tomorrow, Rosalie?" Bella suggested from her spot at my right side.

"My treat," I added before Rosalie had a chance to answer.

She sighed and looked between our two insistent faces and nodded reluctantly but smiled after a second. "Alright. I can't wait, Bella, see you tomorrow." I hurried forward to open the door for her and shut it after she'd started making her way down the hallway.

"I really can't let you do--," Bella started.

But before she could get out her sentence, I'd made my way next to her and silenced her with my lips. She moaned softly and melted into me, my hands supporting her up at her lower back. "Please, Bella?" I whispered against her lips, making her shudder and close her eyes while she clung closer to me. "Just let me spoil you this once. I promise I won't do it all the time if you don't want me to."

"Mmm," was her only reply other than a small nod. "But just this once. Then you're done."

"Of course," I promised with my fingers crossed behind her back. "But you know all you have to do is say the word and I spoil you like mad." I smiled against her neck before pressing my lips into her pulse point. When my lips reached her ear, I spoke softly into it. "I'll set you three loose with my credit card after we have breakfast with my parents."

She pulled back enough to see my face. "Breakfast?" she inquired.

I nodded and shrugged once. "Dad texted me before the show and I promised him. But they don't know Rose is here yet, so that'll be interesting."

Bella smiled softly and I pecked the corner of her smile with my lips. "You know I adore your parents." She sighed. "I just hope they take her return okay and…the news."

"They'll be there for her. I know my parents," I assured her. They would probably be shocked to see her, but they would never turn her from their doorstep. She was still their baby girl no matter what had happened.

"I'm positive that you're right about that." She took my hand and led me back to the couch where we sat in the same position as before, with her back against the armrest and her legs lain gracefully over my lap. "Will you tell me what happened with you all now?"

I nodded and pulled her closer and told the story with my chin resting on her shoulder while she stroked my hair randomly, which felt like utter heaven. "From the day I was born, Rose and I were like the picture-perfect brother and sister. She looked out for me, and I protected her in return. We weren't inseparable, but we were as close as siblings could get while keeping that siblings border. She even got along with my friends…obviously, as she more than got along with Emmett. They started dating when they were fifteen and I was fourteen and it was just…natural. He was already a brother to me anyway.

"Not only were Rose and I close, but unlike most kids, we adored our parents. They were always fair, and in return we respected them by not getting into trouble. Seriously, we were like the freaking Brady Bunch, but without all those really corny moments.

"As much as we all looked out for each other, that was doubled when mom was diagnosed with cancer when I was fifteen and Rose was sixteen. We all helped her with everything as much as we could, and the scare of losing her made us all even closer than before." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Bella kissed my forehead, patiently awaiting the rest of the story.

I continued a moment later, my eyes still closed. "That's why it was such a huge blow to every single one of us when she up and walked out. It was a totally normal Friday night. We all watched a movie together whenever Rosalie or I didn't already have plans." I added the last part so Bella wouldn't think I was a total loser hanging out with my family every Friday. And it was true; sometimes we had other things to do. But for the most part, we made sure to have those nights once my mom was diagnosed.

"So one summer night, a Friday, when I was seventeen and Rose was eighteen, Mom, Dad and I had just started watching 'Interview With a Vampire' when Rose came trudging down the stairs, multiple suitcases in tow. I remember this so clearly. She said, 'I'm moving to Hollywood with Vera. I love you all, but this is just something I have to do. College isn't the place for me right now, and I have to see where this acting thing can go.' And she left. She didn't leave a phone number or address; she just walked out the door."

"Oh, Edward," Bella hummed in my ear, kissing my temple.

I shook my head gently, silently telling her that it didn't matter, that I wasn't upset anymore. "I'm not worried about myself, but I'll never forget the look on Esme's face. It was just utter heartbreak, Bella. And she didn't shed a tear until the door was closed behind her only daughter. Gone. Little did we know that all we would get over the next eight years was a card or letter every now and then. The letters never had a return address on them or a phone number slipped inside. I guess she thought we or Emmett would try to find her. She clearly didn't want that."

I sighed deeply and looked at Bella, her lips turned into a frown, which I did my best to kiss away. When I kissed her she smiled lightly and her hand continued its stroking of my hair. "And here we are. You know the parts of my history that didn't involve my sister."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around me. I knew that the kiss that followed was her way of expressing what she couldn't say in words. It was soft, slow, and full of so much love my heart almost exploded in my chest trying to contain it all in that small fist-sized space. With Bella that was impossible; my love for her extended to every part of my body. The kiss grew from soft and empathetic, to more intense and I knew she was expressing what she had reeled in of my pain. That just proved to me even more the depth of my emotional connection with Bella.

"Edward," she whispered almost harshly against my lips.

"Edward!" There was a quick knock on the door before the knocker let themselves in quickly, causing me and Bella to pull apart and glare at Jasper in frustration.

"Sorry!" he apologized quickly as Alice hurried in behind him and he grabbed the remote from the coffee table in front of us. "But you have to see this." Alice nodded and the two of them sat on the opposite end of the couch.

"Did you talk to Emmett?" I asked, not really understanding what on TV was so important.

"Yeah, he's asleep, just still a little shaken. I'll tell him about this in the morning, though. He doesn't know." He gestured to the TV in response to my unanswered question.

"No!" Bella gasped in soft disbelief at the headlines on the TV.

"Michael Jackson is dead?" I exhaled in disbelief. "That's insane. This is a hoax."

"Not even," Jasper answered, shaking his head and pulling Alice closer. "He was found in his house this morning. We've just been so busy all day that we didn't even have a chance to see a TV."

It wasn't like anyone in the room was a hard core Michael Jackson fan, but he was the King of Pop. He was an idol in the music world, therefore an undeniably huge part of the industry we had immersed ourselves in. And as crazy as his life—and he (or so some say)—might have been, he was one talented son of a Joe.

"You okay, baby?" Bella asked, rubbing my back. I hadn't even noticed that my shocked expression had yet to leave my face.

"I'm fine," I nodded. "He's just such a huge part of everything we do."

I saw Jasper nod in complete understanding from the corner of my eye.

"I think we should pay a tribute to him at the show tomorrow night," I suggested. We were performing a second concert at Safeco Field, where the Mariners played, as they were out of town playing in New York. "We can practice a couple of his songs at rehearsal. We should have time in our couple of hours as we already know them." We'd done a few of his covers in high school and still played them occasionally just for a break from our normal songs during rehearsal.

"Fantastic idea," Jasper agreed.

There was another knock at the door and I told them to come in. I looked toward the door and Rosalie was coming back in, fresh tears in her eyes, which flickered to the TV. "So you've seen it?" she asked, wiping her eyes. I was slightly shocked by her reaction.

"Did you know him?" I asked, the shock evident in my eyes.

She shrugged and sat on the chair next to the couch. "I met him a couple of times, and he was always so sweet to everyone, especially his fans. Kind of like you, Edward," she added, causing me to blush against my will. "Anyway, he told me he was a fan once. I was seated behind him at the Golden Globes last year, too. He was just a really good, talented human being. It's a huge loss to the entertainment industry."

We all nodded appreciatively and spent at least the next hour watching the TV in silence. None of us cared that it was about four o'clock in the morning. Jasper and I remained awake, but Bella had ended up falling asleep against me. Similarly, Alice was curled up in the space on the couch between Jasper and me with her head on his lap, and Rose was in a ball on the chair.

Around eight o'clock, I felt Bella stir and I pulled my eyes from the TV. "Morning, love," I whispered as I kissed her lightly.

She hummed and kissed me back. "You didn't sleep, did you?" she asked and I shook my head in response. "Didn't think so." She smirked and looked at the clock. "I think I'll get in the shower. What time is breakfast?"

"Down in the hotel restaurant in an hour," I told her as she stood and nodded.

"I'll be quick," she promised before kissing me and ruffling Jasper's hair on the way to the bathroom.

Jasper woke Alice and they headed to their room and to wake Emmett, also planning to try and convince him to attend breakfast. Esme always loved seeing "her boys" and she was to be the secret weapon in persuading him.

Rosalie followed shortly after them, and once they were all gone, I turned to the bathroom where the shower was running and decided to preserve water.

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**Author's Note: **Okay, that MJ thing was totally not planned, but it seemed appropriate. This is my first chapter since his death, and this being a music/entertainment story of sorts, it felt like something I should do and wanted to do. Next chapter, breakfast with the 'rents and probably that concert at the Mariners field as well!

REVIEW, POR FAVOR!


	5. Chapter 5: Hurry Home

**Author's Note: **Hello my beautiful readers! The full lyrics for the title were too long to put in the actual title, so here they are:

"_**It doesn't matter what you've done, I still love you. It doesn't matter where you've been, you can still come home. And honey if it's you, we've got a lot of makin' up to do, and I can't hug you on the phone, so hurry home." -Jason Michael Carroll. **_

It's from a father to a daughter when she leaves home, i.e. Carlisle to Rosalie. Here's breakfast with the 'rents plus some other fun!! Enjoy!

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**Chapter Five**

**Hurry Home**

**Bella's POV**

Edward's little idea of how we could "go green" as a couple had just succeeded in making our shower take twice as long; so much for water preservation. I shoved him away while I did my hair and makeup, though. No guy needed to see how those miracles happened before marriage at the very least. When I finally felt like I was ready to present myself to Carlisle and Esme, in a blue sundress and flip flops and my hair falling over my shoulders, I went out into the living room of the suite to find Edward already sitting on the couch, completely ready to go.

He took my breath away, and all he had done was put on a crisp white shirt with a white tee under it, rolled up the sleeves, and threw on a pair of light denim jeans. It was just one more indication that we were perfect for each other: even our clothes went well together.

Edward looked up from the couch when he heard me leave the bathroom and stood with a huge smile on his face. "You're _bella_, my Bella," he smirked with almost a wicked yet charming vibe to it. I laughed and walked over to him, my arms immediately extending around his neck as I leaned in for a light kiss. His grip tightened on my waist as I tried to pull away, but I kept my lips reserved to the area of his cheek and patted the spot after I kissed it. "We can't start anything, we'll be late, Edward," I scolded playfully as I broke free of his hold and grabbed my cell phone from the table.

I turned back to Edward and slid my phone in his pocket. "Carry that, for me, would you?" I asked, looking up at him through my thick, dark lashes. "I don't feel like carrying a purse."

Edward laughed and kissed my forehead. "Only for you." I grinned up at him and kissed his chin.

We walked next door to Alice and Jasper's room—what was supposed to be the room I was sharing with Alice. I brought my fist up to knock just as Alice pulled it open as if she knew we were coming at that exact moment, a perky smile on her face. "Good morning!" she chirped.

I refrained from rolling my eyes and gave her a little grin. I peeked up at Edward, though, and it seems his self control in the eye-rolling area wasn't as practiced when it came to Alice's pep. "Hey, Al, you two ready?" I asked her.

"Well, Jasper and I are," she answered, looking over her shoulder, but he's still trying to convince Emmett to go.

Edward looked around her toward the couch where we knew Emmett had slept the night before and sighed, running a hand through his hair as I smiled—it was one of his habits that I adored. "Maybe you should talk to him, Edward. She's your sister and he's one of your best friends."

He nodded and Alice stepped aside so we could both enter the hotel room. Jasper jerked his chin up at us in greeting while he poured a cup of coffee. "You guys want a cup before we head down?"

Edward shook his head but I nodded. Our lack sleep was already getting to me, and caffeine was probably just what I needed. I kissed Edward gently before I went over to the small kitchen and sat on a bar stool as Jasper slid a cup over to me. He held out a sugar packet but I shook my head. "Black," I mumbled as I wrapped my hands reverently around the hot cup full of the miracle elixir.

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**Edward's POV**

I watched Bella go over to her cup of coffee, which I knew she loved almost as much as me. I wished she could hold my hand while I talked to Emmett. Not because I was scared of him or anything utterly absurd like that, but I honestly had no idea what to say and Bella had been my muse for the last six years. I sighed and made my way over to the couch, sitting down warily next to Emmett who was just staring at a Saturday morning TBS movie—"Interview With the Vampire," I think.

"Hey, man," I tested, my head turned toward him to gauge his expression.

He took a deep breath and looked over at me. But it wasn't a look of relief for someone to talk to—it looked like betrayal. I frowned, but I didn't need to ask what was wrong because he told me willingly. "How could you just take her back like that?" he accused. "I thought maybe you were the one person who would be just as pissed to see her as I was. Don't you remember what it was like when she left? You can't pretend you weren't just as hurt as everyone else."

Wow.

I ran my hand through my hair, a nervous habit I knew I had to drop before I went bald. I glanced over at Alice, Jasper, and Bella. Alice and Jasper were smiling. I raised an eyebrow at them but they just kept smiling. I realized then that Emmett speaking must have at least been progress no matter what the words were.

"Look, man, she's my sister…flesh and blood. If she committed murder I would still love her. You weren't there when I first saw her; it wasn't pretty. Ask Bella." I sighed when his only response was a glare in my direction.

I waited for him to speak. "So you're saying I should just forgive her? Automatically kiss her feet and kiss her senseless like nothing ever happened?"

"Definitely not," I said as I shook my head. "I think you should give her a chance, though. Don't act like you don't still love her. If you didn't you would have hugged her and told her it was good to see her again. What she did still hurts. And where there's hurt, there's love."

There were a couple minutes of silence with Emmett staring blankly at the TV again, his face almost in a scowl. But I knew he was just concentrating on what I said. Good. I was right.

Finally he looked up at me, and then stared at me with the same expression before the scowl broke into a miniscule smirk. "That's why we let you write the lyrics, you pussy."

I laughed and punched his shoulder, and he smiled a little, but the look of despair was back as soon as it had gone. "Just come to breakfast," I told him. "Give her a chance while we're all with you. Besides, Esme would be devastated if you weren't there. You're family, you know?"

He took a deep breath then nodded slowly. "Fine, but if this is a disaster you can't make me try again."

"I won't make you do anything," I promised, standing up. I'd had about as much time away from Bella as I could stand.

He stood, too and told me he'd just be a couple minutes. When he disappeared into one of the bedrooms I went back over to Bella, wrapping my arms around her from behind. She held her coffee cup over her shoulder to me and I took it with one hand, keeping the other arm around her. I sipped it before kissing her cheek in thanks.

"What do you think he'll do?" Jasper asked quietly to be sure Emmett couldn't overhear.

I shrugged. "I don't think he'd upset Esme or even Carlisle by making a scene. Worst case scenario will be an awkward silence which my mom's always fantastic at filling."

They laughed quietly and Emmett came out of the bedroom. I stood up, taking Bella's hand before I put the cup down in the sink. "Bella and I will get Rosalie from her room and meet the three of you down there. Carlisle and Esme should already be here."

Jasper nodded and Alice gave me a thumbs up. "Got it!" she squeaked. I chuckled and ruffled her hair, causing her to pout which Jasper promptly kissed away. Well, hell. They were almost as cute as Bella and me. We'd have to do something about that.

"Ready, love?" I asked her in the fake British rocker accent as I twirled a piece of her hair between my fingers. I kissed her gently and she nodded, a gorgeous smile crossing her lips.

The five of us left the room at the same time. Bella and I went back in the other direction down the hallway and the other three headed to the elevator. When Rose opened the door she was completely ready and stepped out, putting on a brave smile. I hugged her and Bella kissed her cheek, which I couldn't help smiling at. They'd just met and already it felt like they should be sisters.

"We convinced Emmett to go," I told her casually as we headed for the elevator.

"He still loves you so much," Bella added. "We can all see it, even Alice and I can and we've only known the story for less than twelve hours."

Rosalie smiled patiently and sighed as we stepped onto the elevator and I pressed the button for the lobby. "You know, as much as I want to believe that things could be the way they were with us, it can never be the same. I messed up and I don't know how to make that up to him."

"You may have messed up. Because we all know he would have done whatever it took to support what you wanted to do, but I really believe that he can get over it if he realizes how badly you really feel about it. You were young. How is anyone supposed to know what they want to do with their lives at eighteen?" I reasoned.

I felt Bella squeeze my hand and I kissed the top of her head. Rosalie just sighed in acknowledgement as the elevator dinged, signaling our arrival in the lobby. As we stepped off, I ran my plan past Rosalie.

"So no one knows you're supposed to be here," I reminded her. "Just wait until we prep them for the fact that we have a surprise, or you'll give poor Dad a heart attack. He's getting up there now," I winked.

She laughed a little, which I was grateful I could attribute to, and I smiled. "I'll wait for the signal," she promised.

I nodded, and Bella and I quickly found where we were sitting, leaving Rosalie by the hostess stand where she was ambushed for a couple autographs. I was lucky to escape; I rarely did.

My mother saw us and smiled widely. She and Carlisle stood up immediately. Esme's smile turned into a jaw drop, then back into an even bigger smile when she saw Bella and me holding hands.

"Finally!" she squealed as she hugged me, then Bella. I laughed and greeted my father with a half hug, as I still held tightly to Bella's hand. She hugged him as well.

"I have to say I agree with your mother. We were surprised this didn't happen six years ago," Carlisle said as he sat back down on Esme's right while Bella and I sat across from them. Emmett was sitting at the end of the table with Alice to his left and Jasper to his right across from each other. Jasper was next to me and Alice was next to Carlisle, leaving the seat at the other end from Emmett open.

Esme noticed the empty seat. "Is there a reason there's an extra place setting?" she asked curiously. "Did you invite someone, Emmett?" she asked. She seemed pleased by the fact that he may have been making an attempt at happiness.

Emmett took a deep breath and shook his head. "Not exactly," he muttered, looking down at his orange juice which he was swirling with a stir stick.

"He didn't invite anyone, Mom. I did. It was a surprise and I wanted to warn you first." I took a deep breath and Bella squeezed my knee under the table which relaxed me immediately.

My parents exchanged a glance before looking back at me, silently awaiting their explanation. I merely looked back around toward the hostess station and curled my finger, telling Rosalie to come over. I saw her take a deep breath before coming over.

By the time she was out in the open, my mom and dad had followed my gaze and I turned back in time to hear my mother gasp and see her eyes fill with tears as she shot out of her seat, closing the distance between herself and her only daughter instantly. (A/N: "Hurry Home" on iTunes radio came on right here. How freaking appropriate.)

Even Carlisle's eyes were shining with unshed tears by the time my mom finally backed up from her enough. He pulled her into a tight hug and stroked her hair. "My beautiful baby girl," he whispered into her ear.

Rose's tears, however, were far from unshed. I guessed she was wearing waterproof mascara. As that thought ran through my head, I rolled my eyes mentally and put my arm around my little makeup artist.

I glanced at Emmett as Rosalie sat at the opposite end of the table from him, placing her between Carlisle and Bella. He had his head in his hands, and I knew this didn't go unnoticed by Rosalie, but Esme, as predicted, kept things from being awkward.

"We're so proud of all your success, sweetheart." She reached for Rose's hand as Carlisle nodded with her. I knew they wouldn't mention her not calling, probably ever again. They were so thrilled to see her safe, and they would hope the happy would shortly follow. We all hoped for that. My parents had always been wonderful that way. It didn't matter what she'd done because they would always love her. It didn't matter where she'd been. She could always come home. I knew the same would go for me if there were ever a reason.

"Thanks, Mom," Rose whispered quietly. She barely took her eyes from Emmett who had yet to look up.

My dad squeezed her hand over the table. "It's true. We saw that action movie you starred in that came out last month. You're incredibly talented."

She glanced at him and smiled, squeezing his hand back. "I'm glad you liked it. I'm glad you _saw _it. That's one of my favorites." He patted her hand and her eyes went back to Emmett.

"Emmett," she said softly, her eyes trying to lock with his. The rest of us looked back and forth between the both of them as he finally lifted his head. "Please, Em Bear." If possible her voice was even softer, and at the sound of her pet name for him, I cleared my throat and stood.

"I'm starving," I announced and Bella followed me immediately, shortly followed by everyone else as we made our way to the buffet.

"Jeez," Bella commented quietly as she grabbed a plate from the stack.

I put one hand on the small of her back as I took my own plate and followed her along the buffet. "Tell me about it," I muttered. "They've always belonged together, though."

"Like us?" Bella put the spoon for the scrambled eggs down and looked up at me, smiling.

"Absolutely like us," I answered, leaning down to kiss her lightly on the lips.

As if by magic or some mother magnet that's attracted by her son being in love, Esme appeared right next to us with the hugest grin on her face.

"Did you want the egg spoon, Mom?" I teased her, giving her the spoon I had just finished with.

She took it and scooped eggs onto her plate but shook her head, still smiling. "You two are _so_ precious together," she doted.

I grinned and put my arm around Bella who was blushing furiously. As I kissed her cheek, my dad came up and handed my mom a twenty dollar bill.

I raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" I pointed to where my mom just shoved the bill in the pocket of her dress khakis.

She smirked. "I bet Carlisle that you would finally get the courage on this tour. He thought you'd chicken out again."

Bella's blush only grew and my jaw dropped. I punched my dad lightly in the arm. "Thanks a lot, _Pops_."

He just shrugged. "Face it, son. You've had plenty of opportunities and you didn't have to say a word to anyone for us to know you were thinking it."

Now it was my turn to blush, but Bella, the angel that she is, covered for me. "That's not fair," she laughed, "I could have made the first move but I was chicken, too." She squeezed my hand and kissed my shoulder.

I was about to thank her when Carlisle laughed and shook his head. "She is perfect for you. You better hang on to this one. She's the only ally you have when we pick on you."

I nodded and chuckled, knowing he was right. "Don't worry about that one. This is permanent." I said the last part before kissing Bella's head. I knew she would catch the reference to the song I'd written for her.

She grinned up at me and pushed her plate along the buffet line again, as there was a line forming behind us. My mom got in line behind me and glanced over her shoulder where Rose and Emmett seemed to be in an intense conversation.

"How long has she been here?" she asked me as she squeezed a few sausage links between the tongs and dropped them onto her plate.

"She was waiting outside my hotel room door when we got back from the show," I answered. Esme seemed to absorb that as I watched Bella put salsa on her scrambled eggs.

When I scrunched my nose at her, she laughed and poured some on mine. "Try it, it's good."

"I trust you." I smirked and loaded the last half of my plate with bacon and sausage.

Bella smacked my hand that held the tongs causing me to drop them. She picked them back up and put half the bacon and half the sausage back. "I don't think so, mister. I can't have you clogging those arteries. I want to keep you for at least another sixty years." She put fruit and a bagel on my plate. If healthy food meant sixty years with her, I would take it willingly.

My mom laughed next to me and I stuck my tongue out playfully at her. "Allow me, Edward," she said, moving around me to stand next to Bella. She set down her plate and took Bella's hand in both of hers. "Bella, will you marry him?"

They both giggled and I rolled my eyes. "That's my line." I pouted, but my eyes were glued to Bella's and her smile grew to twice its normal size. "I just have to think of the perfect plan," I told them both, moving away from the buffet line and they followed.

We glanced over at the table and Rose and Emmett still seemed to be deeply absorbed.

"Do you know why she came back?" My dad had come up and stood next to my mom.

"I know the few different reasons there are," I said, taking a deep breath. "She'll tell you though. She plans to."

"Poor Emmett, though," my mom muttered quietly.

"He could have stood to be a little more receptive," I said, looking down at her.

"And you were just all open arms?" my dad asked me incredulously, an eyebrow risen in my direction.

I sighed and shook my head. "You'll see what I mean. I was angry at first, but…life is short." I swallowed thickly and Bella switched her plate to one hand and put an arm around my waist.

I saw my mom frown out of the corner of my eye. "You'll see," I murmured.

Just as Alice and Jasper walked up next to our group, Emmett stood and headed to the beginning of the buffet line, leaving Rose with her head in her hands. Looking at each other, we took that as our cue to sit back down.

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**Emmett's POV**

I didn't want to acknowledge her, but Edward had a point. I was trying to force myself to do the right thing and talk to her when I heard what I used to think was the most angelic voice in the world saying my name.

"Emmett," it said quietly. Who was I kidding? It was still perfect. Like music. "Em-Bear…"

My heart skipped a beat and I couldn't ignore it any longer. I looked up and met her eyes. I couldn't do more than just stare at her beautiful face. I hardly noticed anyone get up around us, but before I knew it we were alone. I was already feeling pangs of guilt for my reaction last night. The sarcastic remarks about the shallow reasons she'd come home were so far over the line that the line was barely visible anymore. The line was a dot. In all truthfulness, I didn't leave that hotel room out of anger at her. I was going to, but in the end that wasn't the reason. I was actually terrified—terrified that her cancer could kill her. Why I did the exact opposite of what I should have done—which was to hold her tight and tell her everything would be okay, or at least give her a smile and tell her I'd talk to her when I cooled down—was beyond possible explanation. I'd spent all of last night and up until Edward and Bella came this morning trying to figure out what the hell I would do if I lost her forever. I was also trying to figure out if it was morally wrong to accept her apology just because she had cancer. It's like that song, "Live Like You Were Dying." Maybe I wasn't considering forgiving her because of her cancer, but because her cancer had taught me to embrace life while my life is still here. And even after she disappeared, Rose had always been my life. I had to embrace her, right? Life was short and we'd both been idiots.

She smiled weakly at me and I took a deep breath. Was letting her back in my life as easy as my heart was forcing my mind to believe?

"I'm sorry I stormed out last night." It was the best I could manage…for starters, anyway.

She sighed and shook her head slightly. "I deserved it. I deserve much worse. I suppose it doesn't make you feel better that I've missed you every second of the last eight years, does it?"

"I can't say that it helps, no. It is slightly hard to believe, though," I admitted, running a hand through what little hair I had.

She leaned away from the table and sat back in her chair, but her eyes never left mine. "Is your forgiveness too much to ask?" she asked, and I could hear the hope in her voice. Admittedly, it softened me up a bit. She was genuinely sorry. Maybe she really did miss me.

I scratched the back of my neck while I considered her question. "No. I can forgive you because I can tell you're really sorry. But I can't forget. I can't trust you yet, you know?"

She nodded quickly, leaning forward again. "I know. I know. I can't ask for more than a chance, something I'm completely aware of."

"A chance," I agreed, nodding.

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**Rosalie's POV**

I breathed a sigh of relief, running a hand through my hair and holding my head in my hands. Keeping my head in my hands I looked up again at him. "What I said last night was true. I've never stopped loving you," I said quietly. "I promised you in that note that I wouldn't, and that was one promise I kept."

What I said was true. I thought about him constantly. I saw his face everywhere I went. I thought so many times about calling him, but I knew letting him in my life would be like letting everything back. It wasn't that I didn't love my family. But I knew I had to stay away if I wanted to get my career on track. Then, by the time I'd finally made it in Hollywood, I felt like it was too late to go back. I knew it was time when I was diagnosed, though. It made me realize how selfish I'd been to let my career be more important than the people I loved more than anyone else in the world.

Last night, seeing Edward so happy with Bella, my heart ached to have Emmett back. I knew I couldn't ask him to kiss me, hold me through the night, and make it feel like everything was going away, but having him back in my life would be a tremendous step.

It was a few moments before he responded to my declaration of feelings, but eventually he sighed, his broad shoulders moving slowly up and down with the action. "I told you I never stopped loving you last night, and I meant that. Love doesn't go away, not the kind we have. There's never even been anyone else because I can't get you off my mind…ever." He was being honest and open. This was so much more than I even dreamed of asking for from him. "I do feel like I should go in the Asshole Hall of Fame for the things I said to you last night, though."

I stopped him right there. "I was a selfish bitch, Em. You were well within your rights to say whatever you were feeling. I was glad to hear your voice again no matter what the words were."

He smirked slightly. "Let's just see how things go, though, alright? We'll build this slowly. Spend time together around everyone else first. If that works out we'll hang out, and so on. Step by step, you know?"

"Oh, God, absolutely," I nodded eagerly, tears coming to my eyes. "Emmett," I whispered. "Thank you. That's so much more than anything I expected or hoped for.

He nodded once and stood up, saying he was hungry. I put my head back in my hands and let a couple tears fall. I wiped them away as everyone came back to the table.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I couldn't believe the asshole actually made her cry. I was going to kill him, without a doubt. I would just have to wait until I was out of Esme's presence. I didn't really think she'd be pleased if I ended up in jail for killing my best friend.

Dad took her hand. "Did he say something to upset you, sweetheart?"

She shook her head quickly. "Oh, no, no, no, these are good tears. I'm…relieved. He was much more gracious than I had any right to expect. All of you are."

We all relaxed quickly, and I was glad I could scratch "Kill Emmett" off of my mental to-do list.

"Well we're very glad to hear that," Mom told her before Emmett sat back down and started eating immediately. He was the same old Emmett, alright. Rosalie seemed to notice that too. She smiled fondly at him and shook her head. "Edward said you came back for another reason, other than just to see us," my mom continued.

"Mom, let her eat," I interrupted as Rose took a huge breath, prepping herself for the news.

"Oh, right! I'm so sorry, sweetie. Of course you should—"

Rose cut her off. "No, I'd actually rather get it over with. I don't think I can really stomach anything until I get this off my chest."

"Is everything alright?" Carlisle asked; both his and Esme's eyes grew concerned. We all put down our forks except Emmett. His fork froze in mid-air and he closed his eyes. Apparently he didn't expect the news of her cancer to be revealed this morning, and I suddenly his actions made sense last night. He was terrified—completely scared to death. It didn't explain the things he said to her before he found out she had cancer, but he was allowed to have a little leftover anger to vent. Rosalie seemed to understand that just fine.

Thankfully, Jasper noticed too and he put a hand on his shoulder while Alice rubbed his back gently on the other side. This didn't go unnoticed by my already-concerned parents, though, and their eyes flashed to Emmett, then to Rose.

"Alright, what's going on?" Carlisle demanded, showing the force he rarely used, but we all knew existed.

Rose bravely met their eyes as she answered. "I have cancer," she told them. "It's breast cancer." Her eyes went to my mother who was already crying.

"Oh, my baby," she said through her tears, going over to hug her. "This is just what I always prayed wouldn't happen to you."

"This isn't your fault, Mom," she assured her. "And I'm going to fight this. You taught me how and you should be proud of that."

Mom couldn't help but smile, and my dad was even caught with a small grin on his face. He seemed to know this was one time where no one would judge him for shedding a few tears, too. He got up and hugged both of them, kissing Rosalie's head.

Emmett had dropped his fork by this time, and just sat there quietly taking deep breaths. The comforting hands of Alice and Jasper still hadn't left him. From my peripheral vision I saw Bella wipe a tear away and I kissed her temple.

"Anything you need we're here for you. Do you need someplace to stay?" Dad asked.

She blushed and nodded. "I was kind of hoping you would let me live at home, at least until I find a place of my own."

My mother couldn't help but smile. "A place of your own? You're staying in Seattle?"

Rose nodded and shrugged. "What can I say? I missed the rain."

We all laughed. Even Emmett cracked a grin, lightening the mood considerably.

"Okay, I'm starving," she announced, getting up and going over to the buffet.

"Mom, are you okay?" I asked quietly, reaching over the table to take her hand once she'd sat back down.

"Oh, I will be," she said as she took a sip of her coffee.

"It's still early," I told them, saving them from having to ask Rose.

"We'll get it," Dad agreed, always the doctor.

And we would. We had to.

* * *

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you guys enjoyed that one!!! I was planning on doing a Bedward lemon, but it didn't really fit with the flow of this chapter. Next one, I promise.

Request to follow me on Twitter!!! Bellin715 is my username.

PLEASE REVIEW, guys. I know you're mad at me for not posting quickly and ruining the flow of the story, but college is busy!!! I just switched my major from Music to English halfway through my third year and that was stressful as hell, but hopefully I'll be writing more soon. If you want that lemon, review your butts off and prove it to me!!

XOXO, Emma


	6. Chapter 6: Love Game

**Chapter 6**

**Love Game**

"_Got my ass squeezed by sexy cupid. Guess he wants to play, wants to play a love game, a love game. Hold me and love me, I just wanna touch you for a minute. Maybe three seconds is enough for my heart to quit it. Let's have some fun this beat is sick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick. Don't think too much just bust that stick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick."_

-"Love Game" by Lady Gaga

**Bella's POV**

"I think that went well." Edward's comment received no more than incredulous looks from Jasper, Alice, and me. He looked at all of our faces and shrugged. "It could have been so much worse. I'm really impressed with Emmett, actually."

"That is true," I agreed, putting my arm around his waist. "I think all he needed was some time to cool down and really think things through."

Alice and Jasper nodded and finished the last dregs of their coffee simultaneously. Edward and I smirked at each other. Really, I just wondered if we came off that adorable to other people.

We were the only four left at the table now, and we decided to take our time. We weren't in any hurry today. Carlisle had to be at the hospital for a quick appointment in a little while and Esme had an interior decorating consultation at someone's home, so they had to split first. Rose said she was feeling a little tired and Emmett had unexpectedly volunteered to take her upstairs. He was tired as well, literally not having slept at all the night before, and that was after a huge exhausting show. We decided that the spa trip Edward was treating Rose, Alice, and me to would be after Rose had a chance to nap.

I scooted my chair closer to Edward and put my head on his shoulder. As if we'd been doing it our entire lives, his arm went automatically around my shoulders and he kissed the top of my head.

"What are your plans for today?" Edward asked Alice and Jasper while he held his coffee in his free hand.

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Nothing, apparently," Jasper answered for both of them. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing yet," he told them as he rubbed his hand up and down my arm slowly, giving me goose bumps.

I smiled and kissed his shoulder. "Why don't we all do something?"

"I'd love that!" Alice squeaked.

We all laughed and Jasper squeezed her hand over the table. "I kind of want to see some more of Seattle. I've missed it."

Once we paid the bill for brunch—okay, once Edward paid the bill for brunch—we all set out down the street on foot. We were right in the heart of everything that is Seattle and felt like taking a cab was pointless.

Through the rest of the morning we headed through the fish market and the surrounding shops. By one in the afternoon we were all starving, despite the samples of smoked salmon we got earlier. We were sitting on a bench by the water with me snuggled up against Edward's side when my stomach growled.

Edward laughed and kissed my head. "I think Bella's stomach is telling us it's time for lunch." He rubbed the guilty stomach in slow circles. "What do you guys want?"

My mind started to go to all the things that sounded good, but before my stomach, my taste buds and I came up with any good ideas, Alice was ready with an answer.

"A really, really big, juicy, messy burger," she blurted out.

It sounded strange coming from someone so small—Alice looked like all she ate was fish and salad. Edward raised an amused eyebrow, I nodded in agreement, but Jasper's jaw dropped slightly and he muttered, "That's really hot," before he kissed her.

I laughed quietly into Edward's shoulder and he kissed my forehead, coaxing my chin up with his finger. His green eyes were sparkling with silent laughter and my lips were like a magnet to his. I kissed him softly and pulled away, still looking into his eyes.

"What?" I whispered to him, bringing my hand up to stroke the faint stubble on his jaw.

"Just trying to figure out how I got so lucky. All of a sudden I have everything I've wanted for as long as I can remember."

"I know exactly what you mean. It feels like it'll all disappear; it's just too good." It wasn't the first time I worried that all the fantastic things that happened in the last two days would come full circle and be snatched away from me.

He sighed. "I don't want you to worry about that, Bella. I will always be here for you. Until the day I die I will love you and want you in my life. I'm here until you wish it otherwise."

I grinned widely and kissed his nose. "I guess we will be okay then, because I'll never wish it otherwise…ever."

He smiled crookedly and held me tighter against him. "So that really, really big, juicy, messy burger sounds good to you, huh?" he asked, his lips so close to mine they brushed against them as he spoke.

My eyes widened and I nodded enthusiastically. "Bit, juicy, and meaty—that's how I like it."

He grinned wickedly. "That's what she said," he whispered in my ear.

I pulled his face back to see his expression when I said, "Yes…it is. And she meant it exactly how he took it."

He groaned quietly and I felt his meat getting excited against my thigh, but my stomach growled again. He hummed his disappointment lowly in my ear. I just laughed and kissed him gently. "Later, I promise."

"I don't know if I can wait until after that other show tonight," he sighed, kissing my neck.

"You might not have to," I winked as I stood up.

He growled and adjusted himself quickly before standing up. It was then that we noticed that Alice and Jasper had already been standing, waiting for us.

"Oops," I giggled, taking his hand. "Sorry, guys."

Jasper rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face. "Yeah, no problem. Ready?"

We headed over to Red Mill Burgers, which is said to be one of the top ten burger places in Seattle. Alice and I didn't eat here often either, even though we were always in town, so their incredible burgers were a treat for all of us.

We were seated at a booth, Jasper and Alice on one side, Edward and me on the other. I still felt badly about teasing Edward like that, but I didn't know what we could do about it now. Or…did I?

* * *

**Edward's POV**

It took a lot of thoughts of my wrinkly, flabby grandma taking a bath to get Bella's comment out of my head…both of them. But I finally managed it by the time we were seated at the restaurant. I was set on spending a fun afternoon with Bella and our best friends.

Okay, who was I kidding? I was dying to get Bella alone, especially when I didn't have much time with her before we had to leave for Houston. I pulled her closer reflexively as thoughts of leaving her ran through my head. I'd always missed her when we left, but it was always easier to push aside when she wasn't mine to miss…now she was mine and leaving her felt like the hardest thing I would ever have to do. I tightened my arm and put the other one around her, too.

She looked up at me, concern causing her forehead to wrinkle and her eyebrows crease together. I kissed between her eyebrows and smoothed the space with my finger.

"Nothing's wrong," I promised her, knowing what she was going to ask. Maybe we would discuss it later. Right now I just wanted to have fun.

Bella smiled softly and kissed my jaw before she turned to look at the menu. But there was no fooling her. She squeezed my knee and her thumb rubbed small circles on it while she flipped through the pages of the various burgers.

I read over her shoulder and decided on the first one I saw: double cheddar and bacon with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Bella flipped the menu shut and laid her head on my shoulder while her thumb continued its soothing circles.

"What are you having, love?" I asked, running my fingers through her hair that was slung over her shoulder.

She opened the menu again and pointed to the exact thing I was just thinking of getting. Okay, Jasper was right. Your girlfriend wanting to down a huge burger and fries was fucking sexy as hell. "No tomato, though," she said, making a face, her adorable nose wrinkled like a bunny. Cute and sexy—I could not have been more turned on.

Unthinkingly, my hand went from her shoulder down to her hip, pulling her gently closer to me. "Me, too," I whispered in her ear, pushing her hair back with my free hand.

Alright, I lied. I could be more turned on. Her hand moved from my knee in an incredibly northern direction. I froze when her hand moved toward my inner thigh. Her head was still resting innocently on my shoulder while she mentioned the spa trip with Rosalie to Alice. Mentioning my sister while her hand was inches away from Little Edward? She was utterly sinful. She'd started out trying to soothe me, but there was no way it was an accident the way her hand was moving now. Her knuckles brushed against the little soldier, who obediently stood at attention. I stopped her hand and glanced down at her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Bella," I breathed, "you have no idea what you're doing to me, love."

She turned her head up to look at me and smiled angelically. "Sure I do," she whispered back.

I groaned as I felt myself grow harder, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. My obvious discomfort didn't stop Bella. She continued talking to Jasper and Alice while her hand fully cupped me. Watching her face, I saw her grin when she felt how hard I was for her. Our eyes met and her smile grew. For a brief moment when Alice and Jasper were paying attention only to each other, she put her finger to her lips. I raised an eyebrow, partially confused, a little concerned, but mostly excited.

She went back to her conversation with Alice who was being stared at artfully by Jasper, leaving me free to lean my head back and close my eyes unnoticed while Bella's hand stroked along my length through my pants. What the hell was she doing to me? She grabbed one of the paper napkins from the table and pretended to put it on her lap, but handed it to me. What. The. Fuck?

I opened my eyes and glanced down at my lap. Alice and Jasper were still absorbed in each other, and I felt Bella's fingertips at the top of my pants. _Well, that's odd…I thought she had something in…holy fuck._ She had unbuttoned my jeans and was pulling the zipper down. My head snapped in her direction, but she used her free hand to put her finger up to her lips again, winking at me. I leaned my head against hers, making it look to Alice and Jasper like I was just absorbed in her conversation.

What had happened to her? She was so innocent before, so quiet. Not that I was arguing. I had the best _fucking_ girlfriend _ever_…no pun intended. She kissed me gently just before her hand slipped down into my boxers. I bit back a moan when her fingers made contact with my sensitive skin. As she ran her thumb back and forth over the tip I braced my right foot against the wall beside me and I pulled her into my arms.

"Bella," I whispered quietly in to her ear.

She kissed me again and my breathing got heavier. "Shh." She kissed my ear and I closed my eyes, breathing in the scent of her hair deeply.

I knew that with the excitement of being in such a public place, with Alice and Jasper sitting right across from us, Bella giving me a hand job would make me come so much faster than I ever had since I was thirteen and masturbating for the first time in my bathroom.

Her soft hands moved up and down my shaft while she whispered sweet nothings in my ear, trying to convince Alice and Jasper that we weren't doing anything out of the ordinary. Her hand moved a little faster and my abs clenched. I cupped the napkin over my tip as I exploded; the look of pure bliss on my face was thankfully masked by Bella's hair.

She kissed me sweetly as she tucked Little Edward back inside my pants and zipped them up. I looked up and saw Jasper staring at me, completely unnoticed by Alice who was texting someone furiously on her iPhone. His eyes were wide as saucers and his jaw was slightly dropped.

I looked down to make sure Bella couldn't see him, but she had her head on my shoulder with her eyes closed. "Jealous?" I mouthed at him with a wink.

He laughed silently and shook his head before stealing Alice's phone away. Soon, they were completely entranced with each other again and ignoring us. With my forehead still leaning against the side of Bella's head, I took my hand closest to her and pulled her skirt up her legs, then let it fall over my hand. Just as I suspected, her little experiment with my test tube had excited her as well—I could feel the heat radiating from her as I slid my hand up her thigh. What I didn't suspect, were my fingertips meeting hot, slick flesh instead of wet cotton panties. She. Wasn't. Wearing. Underwear. And we hadn't gone back to our hotel room, nor had she taken a trip to the restroom since we left that morning. That could only mean one thing: she wasn't wearing them while we were at breakfast with my parents, either.

I looked down at her and she had her lip between her teeth, grinning mischievously. Yep, she knew _exactly_ what _she _was doing. She slid forward just a little, giving me better access. I put my elbow on the table in front of her and leaned my head on my open palm, pretending I was in deep conversation with her. I slid a finger into her and she closed her eyes briefly. I added another finger while I flicked her clit with my thumb and kissed her nose casually. I began pumping them in and out and occasionally swirling them around, pretending I didn't know exactly where her sweet spot was.

Just as I stopped being cruel and let the tip of my middle finger touch her G-spot, the waitress walked up with a huge smile on her face. It was the kind of smile Jasper and I were well-accustomed to—she was a fan.

"This is so, weird!" she said excitedly. Okay, no squealing, this was good…but I wished she'd hurry the fuck up. "I was just trying to get someone to take the last half of my shift so I could go to your show tonight at Safeco Field. I love you guys so much—your music _and_ you. Where's Emmett? Too much fun last night?" she laughed.

She was harmless, but annoying. I could feel the irritation radiating off of Bella at the girl's shameless flirting so I gave my fingers that were still deep within her a quick pump, hitting her spot again. I saw her smile in my peripheral vision at the same time that she squeaked a little. _That's right, baby. You're the one with my fingers inside you right now…never her. Never anyone else._

Meanwhile, Jasper was answering the waitress. "You could say that," he smiled kindly. "And tell your boss that if he or she gives you the night off we'll give them a free ticket that'll be waiting at will call. We just need a name. Are they a fan?"

"She's a huge fan!" the girl squealed. "Personally, I think she didn't want to give me off because she was jealous that I have tickets, but now maybe she will. Thank you so much, Mr. Whitlock."

"Jasper," he corrected.

She nodded and her smile had grown impossibly wide.

I could tell Bella was getting impatient, so I gave her clit a little flick again and pulled my fingers out, slamming them back in with just a subtle flick of my wrist.

"Unggh," she breathed.

I grinned and kissed the side of her head. "Sorry, she's just a little excited for her big, juicy meat," I said with an innocent grin. The look on the waitress's face clearly showed that she wanted to blurt out, "That's what she said," but was successfully struggling to refrain.

"Mmm, you have no idea," Bella muttered, gripping the side of the table. "So ready for it," she added, forcing a smile up at her.

"Right, well, let me take your orders, then," she said quickly while Jasper and Alice shot us confused glances, to which we just shook our heads.

We all gave her our orders, all the while I continued pumping in and out of Bella's slick folds, even adding a third finger while I rolled her sensitive bud against my thumb.

By the time she left to give the kitchen our order, Bella's face was red and her hand was gripping my thigh, her nails digging in. But I would take the pain if it was because I was giving her pleasure. She looked up at me and winked. I raised an eyebrow but was completely shocked when she pushed my hand out of her. She winked again and I understood she had a plan.

"I really don't feel well all of a sudden," she said to Alice and Jasper. "Excuse me." She got up from the table, and once she was behind Alice and Jasper's backs, she curled her finger in my direction, and my suspicion that I was supposed to follow her was confirmed.

"Oh, God," Alice murmured. "She seemed fine a few minutes ago."

"I think she's…just really in need of some…substance," I told her. "I'm sure she'll be fine as soon as she gets that juicy meat."

Jasper smirked, probably knowing exactly what we were up to. But Alice just seemed to accept it and nodded. "Of course…she's probably hungry."

"So am I," I mouthed to Jasper who chuckled quietly. "I'll go check on her." I said this aloud and stood up and excused myself, rushing after her to the women's bathroom.

A couple people were staring at me as I approached the door marked with the stick figure in a skirt, so I gave them a show to believe after I was let inside. I knocked a couple of times on the door. "Bella, are you feeling alright, love?" I called to her.

She waited a moment as if she were getting up from the toilet, then opened the door for me and I stepped in quickly. Once the door was closed behind us, I locked it and pushed her up against the sinks, lifting her onto the counter.

"I'm starving, Bella," I told her before I went down and lifted her skirt, immediately delving my tongue between her spread legs. I'd been dying to do that since I first felt how wet she'd been for me, and we both moaned at the sensation at the same time.

Her hand went to my hair, pushing my face closer to her. With my tongue buried between her lips, I rubbed her clit as quickly as my fingers could move. Before long, she juiced around my tongue and her head fell back against the vanity mirror. "Fuck, Edward," she hissed, her chest heaving.

* * *

**Bella's POV**

I can't say I wasn't hoping for something along these lines when I refrained from putting on underpants while getting dressed that morning, but this was far better than anything I could have dreamed up in my tiny little brain. Giving Edward that hand job, however, was completely spur-of-the-moment to relieve my guilt about teasing him. His hand finding his way under my skirt had been an unexpected bonus.

"What brought this on, Bella?" he asked as he stood, pulling me into his arms. He kissed my neck and I put my arms around his.

I pressed myself closer to him as his hands ran up my thighs and cupped my bare ass. I kissed him deeply before answer his question, my lips still brushing against his as I did so. "I thought it would be fun. I was right, wasn't I?"

"Mmm, so right," he murmured back just before he slid his tongue—which still tasted like me—between my lips. It molded itself against mine and I hummed in pleasure.

He squeezed my ass again. "I need you, Edward. Now," I pleaded as my hands went for his jeans again, sliding them and his boxers down in one fluid motion so they hung by his ankles. I took him in my hand, squeezing his balls gently as I backed up against the stall wall.

He groaned and lifted my skirt again, sliding his finger needlessly against my slit—it was already wet.

"Fuck, baby," he muttered as his head fell onto my shoulder. "You're so ready for me."

"I'm always ready for you, Edward. Your smile makes me wet," I told him. I was hardly exaggerating.

He groaned and pushed the thin straps of my sundress down my shoulders, letting the neckline of the dress fall just beneath my breasts. His mouth latched onto one of my nipples and I threw my head back. It smashed into the metallic wall but I couldn't have cared less. His hand that wasn't supporting me massaged my other breast and I hummed again, wrapping my legs around his waist.

I couldn't wait any longer, and I reached down for my skirt, pulling it up and tucking it into the top of my dress. I put my arms up behind my head and gripped the top of the wall. I pulled myself up just enough to fall back down onto him, letting him fill me completely.

We both grunted and both his hands went to my waist, helping to hold me in one place so he could slam back into me over and over.

"God, Bella," he groaned, drawing the words out. He kissed me passionately, our tongues swirling together to hold back our shouts, which I could tell would get loud.

I could feel my stomach clenching, and the feeling spread down, making my soft walls quiver. "Edward, I'm…."

"I am, too, baby; it's okay. Come for me. I wanna feel your wet cum on my dick."

He had to have known nothing turned me on more than when he talked to me like that. When his words were as badass as his rock star reputation, I always wanted to feel his thick shaft in me. I'd had so many wet dreams—and daydreams—about it since we'd met six years ago. But this was more than a dream; it was real…so real. He was pulsing inside me, on the edge and wanting to bring me with him as he fell over it. Just the thought of finally having the only man I'd ever wanted since I was old enough to really start thinking about what I wanted out of my life inside me and just as in love with me as I was with him, pulled me right over that edge and I shuddered around him. Before I was finished shaking, he released inside me and pumped a few more times before kissing my chest, then my lips, and pulling out.

"Thank you," he smiled and kissed me gently as he fixed my dress, caressing my skin gently as he did so. He was always so gentle, and I went from turned on physically to being completely awed by how wonderful he was inside in the same moment.

"No need to thank me, Lion. I have no qualms about doing this again, either." I smiled and bent down to pull his pants back up for him.

Before he buttoned them he cleaned both of us up with a wet paper towel, again being so careful, as if I were the most breakable glass. The fact that he felt comfortable being rough with me while we were making love while knowing how he could still treat me like a complete lady made me fall a little bit more in love with him by the second. I had to tell him so.

"I fall more in love with you every second," I told him, stroking his hair as he held me for a couple more minutes before we headed back out to our table. "You're just so wonderful to me."

He chuckled and kissed my temple. "Bella, I just fucked you in the women's restroom of a family burger joint."

I giggled and shook my head. "Honestly, that's part of what's making me more in love with you—the fact that our love makes it impossible for us to wait until we're in bed. But it's also the way you just took such care of me."

"I like taking care of you." He kissed my shoulder and grazed his nose gently along my collar bone.

"I love it when you do, too. As long as you let me take care of you sometimes." I continued stroking his hair and kissed the top of his head.

He lifted his head and smiled crookedly at me again. "Anything you wish, love."

I smiled and took his hand, kissing his knuckles. "We should probably head back out before Alice and Jasper think I need to go to a hospital."

He chuckled and nodded his agreement. He laced his fingers through mine and opened the door to the bathroom where a small line was forming. As soon as they saw who was inside, their jaws dropped and they backed out of our way. I laughed quietly into his shoulder at their expressions. It was like they didn't know whether they should be screaming because Edward Cullen was in front of them, if they should be appalled that Edward Cullen emerged from a bathroom with a locked door with a woman, or if they should be freaking out because Edward Cullen was having sex ten feet away from them.

Always the quick thinker, Edward smiled kindly at them and rubbed my back. "I'm sorry, Bella. I know you don't feel well, but would you mind?"

I tried to make myself look pale and shook my head. "I don't mind. I'll just go order a white soda and see if they have some saltine crackers while you make their day, you big rock star."

The expressions on the women's faces went from that mixed feeling, to feeling bad for me and completely weak-kneed by his ability to be so sweet as to hold my hair back while I threw up. He kissed the top of my head, smiling triumphantly. I smirked when he winked at me and headed back out to the table.

"Oh, Bella! Are you feeling better?" Alice asked, concern etched over her face.

I smirked and nodded. "Much. I'll explain later, but we just had to make up a story coming out of the bathroom because, naturally, the girls waiting outside were fans of the band. So maybe we should take these burgers and eat them back out by the water where we came from."

Alice and Jasper nodded in agreement, though their expressions were still confused. As if on cue, Edward came back to the table just as the burgers were being brought over.

"Could we possibly get boxes right away?" Edward asked the waitress as she set the plates down. He must have had the same idea as I did about avoiding questioning. "I'm sorry. My girlfriend's just not feeling well." It sounded like he put a slight emphasis on the word "girlfriend" and I squeezed his hand under the table.

"Oh, of course," she said, frowning at me. "Would you like any crackers or anything? Maybe a white soda in a to-go cup?" she asked thoughtfully.

I smiled and shook my head. "That's very sweet, but I'll be alright. I just need some fresh air, I think," I told her.

She nodded and went to get the boxes. She was back in record time, apparently wanting to impress Edward and Jasper. Either that or she was looking for a huge tip from the big rock stars. She even loaded the burgers into the boxes for us and labeled them with what kind was in each. Not only that, but she brought a tray with plastic cups full of refills of the kind of drinks we all had.

"Thank you, we really appreciate it," Edward told her, flashing his red carpet smile.

She blushed and nodded. "No problem, whatsoever."

"Did your boss let you off?" Jasper asked.

She seemed incredibly pleased that he remembered her dilemma and nodded. "She seemed incredibly inclined when I told her about the concert tickets."

We all laughed a little, including her—though hers was more of an embarrassed chuckle. "Were you going with anyone else?" Jasper asked.

"I was planning on going with my best friend," she told him, nodding.

"Just write down your first and last name and we'll have four front row tickets and four backstage passes waiting for you at will call," Edward told her.

She smiled brightly and whipped out her order pad and her purple gel pen and scribbled down her name and phone number, setting it in front of him.

I rolled my eyes at the phone number, but tried to keep in mind that it was just in case something happened. Okay, or not. She liked the idea of having her phone number in Edward's pocket, which was exactly where it ended up when he folded it and put it there. I scowled slightly, but then remembered that _I_ was the one Edward had just banged in the restroom. _I_ was the one he fingered under the table. I was his, and he was mine. Screw the little teenager's phone number.

He put his arm around me and thanked her again. She nodded and put the bill on the table, which Edward and Jasper paid generously, leaving her a tip that was bigger than the actual bill.

I raised an eyebrow at them. "Do you guys do that everywhere?" I asked with a laugh.

"She was nice," Edward shrugged as he stood up and offered me his hand. "And we've had waiters that were fans that weren't so calm. She didn't trip once or spill anything. She deserved it."

"That makes sense," I shrugged as I grabbed my box from the table. He picked up his own and took mine from my hands.

"Let me," he said, smiling down at me and offering me his arm. I took it, and Alice and Jasper mirrored us as the four of us left the restaurant.

We decided to take our burgers back to the hotel and eat them while watching a movie instead of going back to the water. We were going to eat them in Edward's and my room, but Alice and Jasper wanted to stop off quickly in their room. Alice wanted to change into "comfy movie pants" which sounded like a seriously good idea to me. We told them we'd stop in with them since it was on the way to our room anyway, and we wanted to see how Emmett was doing.

Jasper keyed into their room, and instead of finding Emmett flipping through sports and music channels, we found the last thing we expected to see that day: Emmett and Rosalie cuddled under a blanket on the couch, sound asleep.

**Author's Note: **Hey guys!!! I know you're all completely stoked that I posted twice in one weekend...don't get used to it, but I do have the next two chapters _mostly_plotted out.

REVIEWWWWWWWW!!! Please, guys. It makes it a lot more motivating when I know how you guys felt about the last chapter. If there aren't any reviews, I always feel like you all hated it. So let me know!!!! Thanks!!

XOXO

Emma


	7. Chapter 7: If This is Austin

**Chapter Seven**

**P.S. If this is Austin, I Still Love You**

"_She left without leavin' a number; she said she needed to clear her mind. He figured she'd gone back to Austin, 'cause she talked about it all the time. It was almost a year before she called him up. Three rings and an answering machine is what she got…. If this is anybody else wait for the tone, you know what to do. And P.S. if this is Austin, I still love you."_

-"Austin" by Blake Shelton

* * *

**Bella's POV**

My mind raced with questions as Alice, Rosalie and I set off for the spa that afternoon. We'd backed out of Rosalie's room when we found her and Emmett fast asleep in each other's arms. Edward thought we shouldn't intrude, and he was right. But now it was just us girls, and I knew Jasper and Edward were giving Emmett the third degree, maybe even the fourth. The only thing stopping me from grilling Rose was that we'd just met the day before, and she was Edward's sister. I couldn't have her hating me when, if I was following the signals correctly, Edward and I got married and she became my sister-in-law. I chewed my lip the entire ride down the elevator to the first floor of the hotel where the spa was located. Alice kept glancing at me like she was thinking the exact same thing that I was, but neither of us breathed a word.

We gave the receptionist my name, as Edward had called earlier so we had an appointment, and with her corporate smile she led us to a room where we were told a woman named Heidi would come in shortly to give them their facials. I thanked her and smiled kindly. When we were all alone, you could hear a pin drop. Normally Alice and I were fairly chatty—okay, Alice was fairly chatty—but we didn't normally have a pink elephant in the room.

After a couple of minutes, Rosalie huffed impatiently. Alice and I glanced over at her with raised eyebrows. She rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her long blond hair. "Okay, I know you both are dying to ask what the hell happened, so just have at it, alright? Waiting for one of you to burst is like torture."

I grinned at her and then laughed. "Neither of us thought it was really our place to ask. We just met yesterday, you know?" I smiled in what I hoped was a kind, apologetic way.

Thankfully, she smiled back. "That may be true, Bella, but it's always nice to have girls to talk to. Asking me what was up would have just showed me you cared. Who doesn't like that, right?" She laughed a little and tied her hair up with a rubber hair tie.

"Yeah you're absolutely right," I agreed, nodding. "Sorry."

She chuckled softly and shook her head. "Besides, Bella…if you're going to be my sister we should start getting close now, right?" She smiled genuinely at me. She was in a much better mood after her time with Emmett, or so it seemed to me.

I blushed. "Let's not assume we know that even though we all think it, okay?" I smirked. "However…you're probably right."

"So…what _did_ happen?" Alice chimed in almost the second I finished speaking. I rolled my eyes at her but leaned toward Rose, anxiously awaiting an answer.

An embarrassing shade of pink painted Rose's cheeks and she took a little breath. "Well the part you know is that it started out with him wanting to take me upstairs. It was like he thought I would pass out if I tried to go by myself. Once we were in the elevator I forced him to fess up. I asked if he was babying me because of the cancer or if he genuinely wanted to walk me up. He manfully insisted it was a little of both."

My lips curled into a small smile, but I was going to let her continue without interruption. Alice, however, had different plans. "Do you love him?" she blurted out, her blue eyes round and hopeful.

I nudged her with my elbow and Rose looked down at her lap. "It's like I told him…I'll always love him. It wasn't some high school romance that you think means the world when you're fifteen years old and then you go off to college and forget about each other."

Alice and I nodded in understanding. I knew that I had Edward for that now, and with the look on Alice's face, she had found that in Jasper. I squeezed her hand and winked at her. She knew exactly what I meant, and her answering smile was nearly blinding.

"What does that mean, though?" I asked. "So you love him…but do you like him?"

I always remembered Renee teasing me about that when I was in elementary school. She'd say, "I have to like you, Bella! I love you!" And then she'd tickle me until I said "Uncle."

Rose opened her mouth to answer when Heidi walked in carrying everything she needed to give them facials. She was tall, thin, and blonde, and wore a lot of make-up and from what Bella could see from her distance, Heidi had purple contacts. "Who's first?" she asked a voice that begged for a huge tip.

We glanced at each other then Alice and I both pointed at Rose.

While we waited for our masks to dry and for someone else to come in for the massages, Alice and I turned our full attention to Rosalie again.

"Can you believe her bad timing?" Alice joked while Rose just took a deep breath.

I frowned slightly and reached forward to take her hand. "You don't have to tell us, Rose."

She shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "That's not it, so much. I just don't want to jinx it." She took a breath, collecting her thoughts. Finally she spoke again, her lips moving subtly before any sound came out, a silent stutter. "It's just that if I admit like him—which I think you've both figured out that I do, of course I do—he might not like me back."

I went over to her and put my arm around her back. Alice followed suit and sat on her other side on the massage table. "He loves you, Rosalie," I assured her, giving her upper arm a little squeeze. "I could hear it in his voice, and Edward and Jasper really seem to think so. Who knows him better than they do?"

"I used to," she sighed. I felt horrible for her, especially the way her voice sounded so melancholy. I hadn't the slightest idea what I would do if Edward and I were separated. "I know I asked for it. I have no right to his forgiveness, let alone deserve for him to want me back."

I bit my lip and sighed quietly. "Rose, listen. If I were in Emmett's shoes and Edward walked away from me eight years ago without explanation, I wouldn't have been able to move on. We've only actually been together for a short time and already I know I wouldn't want anyone else. As long as I've known him, Emmett's never so much as looked at another woman. It's like you're his sun and every other woman on the face of the planet is like a…meteor rock or something."

Alice rolled her eyes at me and I pouted. "Let's just leave the poetic lyrics to the guys to put in their songs, okay?" she teased.

Rosalie was speechless as she just stared at me. I raised an eyebrow at her but Alice interjected, shockingly wise as always. "She hasn't finished her story yet. We don't know how they ended up falling asleep next to each other."

The same rosy pink tinted Rose's cheeks again and she smirked. "Okay I'll finish." She looked up, first at Bella then at Alice, taking a small, slow breath. "I guess it starts with our conversation at breakfast." She glanced at us from behind her green mud mask as if to make sure we were okay with her detouring back so far to that morning. I knew I wanted to hear, and I suppose Alice did as well because we both nodded eagerly. Rosalie smiled softly and continued. "Well you know he responded to my pet name for him—Em-Bear." When I nodded she went on. "When you all left he apologized for storming out last night. At first I thought such an apology was ridiculous considering he has more than every right to hate me."

She put her hand up when I opened my mouth to protest that statement. "I know, Bella. He doesn't hate me." I blushed and my shoulders slumped but she just smirked at me and continued with her recap. "But now I think he acted out of pure shock. He was at a loss—something else I don't blame him for."

"I know Emmett a little bit," I threw in. Rose glanced over at me and her facial expression didn't indicate she was frustrated with my interruption, so I finished. "From what I can tell he's not the greatest with words and he hasn't seen you in eight years, then suddenly you, the woman he desperately loves, announces she has cancer when he's already stunned speechless by your presence." She just chewed her lip and nodded slowly.

"Point taken," she said quietly.

"Sorry," I laughed nervously, again worried I was overstepping my future-sister-in-law bounds. "Go on."

Thankfully she laughed and started up again. "There's not much to that conversation. There was just so much pausing and blushing that we didn't have time to say much more before his infamous stomach got the better of him and you guys came back to the table."

"Was there anything else, though?" Alice asked. "_Was_ there an actual conversation?" Alice was awfully subdued and serious for her normally peppy self. Maybe Jasper's knack for being concerned with others' emotions was rubbing off on her.

Rosalie smiled. "Of course there's more—the best part. He told me he'll always love me and agreed to take baby steps."

"And the destination of the baby steps would be…?" I asked cautiously, my voice guarded.

Her shoulders rose and fell, but there was a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, twitching as the grin tried to break free.

"What about after brunch?" Alice asked. "Was there an elaboration on the baby steps in that conversation?"

"Sort of," Rose gnawed on the right side of her lower lip. "I mean…yes. It came up."

"What does that mean? It came up…," I asked as I pulled a stray piece of hair from where it had lodged itself in my gooey mask.

"Well, he walked me to my hotel room door after we left the restaurant. I told him I'd be okay because I thought the last thing he'd want to do would be to come inside. But he put his hand on my wrist when I slid the key into the lock and asked if I'd mind him coming in. I think I must have had pure shock written on my face because he actually looked like a sad little puppy which just shocked me even more. But once I mentally slapped myself in the face, I told him quickly that I wanted nothing more than for him to come in."

Alice and I just stared at her, completely engrossed. So she continued. "He kept looking at the floor like he was extremely unsure if he wanted to be there. I didn't want to push him into anything he didn't want to do, so I stayed relatively quiet. I just sat on the edge of the bed, watching him." A small smile started to creep up on her face and I knew something happy was about to happen. "It was only a couple minutes before he sat next to me and took my hand."

**Rosalie's POV—Flashback to Late Morning**

I felt like I was going to pass out. Emmett was a constant in my life and I was completely comfortable around him, but spending the last eight years with too much cowardice running through my veins to even _text_ him or e-mail him would sway one's confidence a bit. I thought without a doubt he wouldn't even be able to look at me. It was almost true, but by some miracle, he managed not to spit at my feet and leave me high and dry like I'd done to him.

But here he was sitting next to me and I didn't know what to do with my own shock. I just let him take my hand and I sat there like an idiot while waiting for him to speak.

Finally I felt him breathe next to me. He turned his head slightly toward me and I met his gaze, butterflies coming out of their cocoons inside my stomach. "Is coming into your room too much to qualify as baby steps?" he asked. I looked up at him and met his gaze.

"It does for me if it does for you," I reasoned hopefully.

Emmett smirked and as if in slow motion, I watched his left hand inch over to meet mine and the most I could do was upturn my hand so our fingers could curl together. An unbelievable amount of hope coursed like lava through my veins and I tried not to let it reach my heart. But the second he gave my fingers a reassuring squeeze the volcano erupted and I was in deep…again. Whether he meant that squeeze to be one of comfort or not, he wouldn't have done it if he was planning on running anytime soon. I knew that much about Emmett.

"I feel like I should tell you exactly why I stormed out of Edward's hotel room last night," he said quietly after a few moments.

I shook my head and turned my head toward him slightly. "You don't owe me any sort of explanation, Em," I told him calmly. "I owe you a million and one but you owe me nothing."

"That's not it, Rose. I didn't leave because I couldn't stand to be in the same room as you. Honestly, leaving because I was pissed off out of my mind at you would have been less embarrassing than the real reason. But I could have handled the anger. I know I was about to leave, but if you had said, 'Hey, Em wait and talk to me,' or if Edward would have stopped me, I would've stayed." He looked at me, and if I wasn't mistaken, his eyes were soft and something else…deeply concerned? "But when I heard those words out of your mouth, that you have can—that you're sick—I panicked. Nothing scares the shit out of me more than the thought of you sick and alone. And what did I do? I left. I'm so sorry."

I smiled a little, honestly a little relieved even if he thought his real reason was more embarrassing. This I could handle…we could get over this. Despite the fact that he'd blundered slightly, I knew we were still far from even. I still had a lot of making up to do, and I had to prove to him that he could trust me. "I know we can't call it even now, far from it. But what do you say we take the making up I have to do from one hundred percent to seventy-five percent?"

He chuckled and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Sixty-nine percent," he teased and I leaned my weight into his side, nudging him.

I nodded anyway. "Sixty-nine percent it is."

There was another small awkward silence and he turned more fully toward me. I felt the strongest urge to pinch my leg to make sure I wasn't making this all up in my overly-imaginative head.

"You must be tired," he all but whispered.

The corner of my lips curved up in a smirk. "The cancer patient is always exhausted," I teased him.

His lips flapped like he was trying to think up a way to explain himself but I just laughed and patted his hand. "I'm just teasing. I'm exhausted, and yes, it's because I'm sick."

He grimaced but nodded slowly. "I'm pretty tired myself. I didn't get much sleep last night. It's kind of hard to do with guilt eating away at you."

"Been there, done that." I slid back on the bed and put my head on the pillow, just staring up at the ceiling.

He hesitated, standing at the end of the bed. I wondered if I should say something, but I didn't want to rush him. If he wanted to stand there and just watch me sleep he was more than welcome. I knew the feeling of him so close would put me at ease and I would sleep better than I had in eight years.

**Emmett's POV—Flashback to Late Morning**

I knew it was a huge risk to be so close to her so quickly, but I had been waiting for her for so long. She was like a dream…an incredibly beautiful dream. Any song I'd had a hand in writing had been influenced by her. At the risk of sounding like a huge pansy, I had to admit that I'd dreamt about her nearly nonstop since that day she walked out. At first they were nightmares and I'd wake up with my right arm searching for her to reach over and comfort me, telling me it had only been a dream. Then I would realize that I hadn't snuck into her room again that night, but I'd been at home and that it wasn't a dream—she was gone.

For a couple years it was like she'd fallen off the face of the planet. No calls, no letters, no e-mails…and that never changed. Hell, we hadn't even known if she was dead or alive. Then one night, a couple weeks after our first show at the Rave, Edward, Jasper, and I decided we wanted to head out to some new action movie. Edward was being awfully quiet and Jasper and I were teasing him about some new girl he met that night. Her name was Bella or something, and from the second he met her he was all glassy-eyed and incoherent. When we walked into the theater and took our seats in the dark, he was still texting her, just like he had been every day for the last two weeks. They'd just met and already he was lovesick. If I were being truthful I'd say I was jealous, but seeing that I wasn't about to admit something like that, I chose to poke fun at him instead.

The trailers for upcoming movies came on the screen as the lights dimmed a little more, but Edward's eyes were still on his phone. I hated previews, so I shut my eyes and leaned my head against the seat. Jasper was the only one actually watching the screen. My eyes still closed, I heard one trailer end with the dramatic announcement of a release date, capped off by one loud beat of a bass drum. The sounds of a new trailer filled the theater and I heard orchestral music and the sounds of someone running through a city with panting breath and horns honking in the background, followed by a scream. A long high note was held on a violin and I heard Jasper curse and a sharp jab to my arm with his elbow. As I opened my eyes I heard Edward mutter, "No fucking way."

My eyes focused on the screen and I couldn't breathe. Rosalie's face filled the screen and her eyes were red, and the red dye of fake blood coated her lips. The scene switched to her in a bathroom putting in blue contacts, then switched again to her walking through an office in stilettos, dressed as a businesswoman, then walking through a door labeled "C.E.O." Apparently they'd wanted a no-name actress to star in the film adaption of a popular novel about a woman who was a successful entrepreneur by day and a sultry vampire by night. "Introducing Rosalie Hale as Marissa Singer," the voiceover announced, concluding the trailer while we all sat there utterly speechless. She'd done it. She'd made it.

So for six years we watched her face decorate covers of gossip magazines and we all spent dollar after dollar on magazines like Vanity Fair where she was featured in their cover articles. A few times, The Irritable Mountain Lions shared a cover with Miss Rosalie Hale of those teen poster magazines. Of course, the Cullens never knew that I would go watch every one of her movies, lurking in the back of the theater with a hood up. They made it public knowledge that they all went to them, but I'd always refused their invitations, afraid that I would break down in front of them.

Now she was here and I was jumping right back into the pool where I'd drowned once, coming to the surface barely alive. The only thing that kept me moving was our music. I did it for the fans and because I knew Edward and Jasper loved it. It wasn't that I hated it, but I hadn't felt truly happy since a couple weeks before Rosalie left, when she, Edward, Jasper, and I had gone on an all-day trip to Seattle. She'd told me she loved me multiple times as we stood by the water and I'd known beyond a doubt that she wasn't lying.

And as I stood here in her hotel room, I still knew this to be true. I knew she really loved me and that her leaving had never been about me. It had been about what doing what she needed to do and I would have held her back if she'd told me. I would have insisted on moving to Hollywood with her, and not only would I have made her life more difficult, but Edward and Jasper and I would have never had our huge success with the band either. There would be no huge sold-out concerts and there wouldn't be any screaming fans, and Edward wouldn't have Bella. If Rosalie hadn't done what she did, our lives would be incredibly different, so I couldn't completely fault her. What she'd done had changed everyone negatively for a short time, but in the long run, looking at the big picture, she'd made room for tons of amazing things, too. And she was here now. Everything could be fixed and it was up to me whether that ever happened or not.

I could either turn and leave the room and see her later after the concert, or I could join her on that bed and curl up with her, telling her everything would be okay. I went for something a little closer to the latter, and kicked my shoes off before laying myself next to her. I curled my arm around her body facing her while she stared at the ceiling.

Her head turned slightly to look at me and I smiled softly at her. "Didn't sleep a wink last night," I admitted.

She didn't answer, just raised her chin a little and kissed my forehead. I closed my eyes in response and suddenly I was thrown back to high school and we were curled up in her bed with not a single other person in the world knowing that we were there.

"This doesn't mean we're fixed, Rosie, just so you know," I whispered, my lips brushing the wisps of hair surrounding her ear.

She nodded and closed her eyes slowly. "I know, Em-Bear. But it feels amazing just to have you here," she sighed.

I couldn't help but smile. "You caused me a shitload of heartache, Rose, but I think of all the _good_ things that would never have happened after you left and I can't help but understand that you did what you had to do."

"Edward wouldn't have Bella," she said as an example.

"Yeah, exactly," I breathed.

"They're perfect together. She's literally his other half, Emmett. I'm so happy he has her."

"She made it possible for him to trust again, starting six years ago when they met and building little by little. He was a mess those two years between you leaving and when he met her, pushing everyone away that he wasn't already close to."

"And you?" she asked after a small sigh.

"I never stopped being a mess," I told her honestly, while I pulled her closer to wordlessly reassure her that my words weren't meant to be hostile, just true.

Her lips curved into a small grin as her eyes remained closed. "We should sleep," she reasoned as I nodded.

"We have years to talk if you plan on sticking around," I told her.

"I'm never leaving again, Emmett. Never."

**Bella's POV—Back in the Spa**

I had tears in my eyes after Rosalie finished telling her story. I quickly swiped them away, unsure what the salt would do to the mud mask if they made contact with the rings of green around my eyes. "I never thought I'd owe my happiness in life to a family's misery," I half-laughed, half-sobbed.

Alice and Rose laughed as Rose put an arm around my back and squeezed me to her. "Everything happens for a reason. In a way I think this was a test for Emmett and me, too. We fell in love so young and I think this was supposed to prove that we really love each other if we waited for each other like this."

"This is all going to work out," Alice said confidently. "Trust me, I just know it."

I rolled my eyes and explained to Rose how Alice thinks she predicts the future.

Alice scoffed at me. "I don't _predict_ the future, Bella, I _see_ the future."

"Oh, right!" I put a hand on her knee and looked her in the eye. "I'm so sorry."

She glared at me through narrowed eyes and my smirk turned into a jaw-drop and a blush with her payback retort. "Okay, Bella, I was trying to be nice and not mention it, but shall we talk about how you got fingered by Edward at the lunch table and then proceeded to bang him in the bathroom?"

Rosalie's eyes widened and she hissed, "That's my brotherrrrrrrr! Shut up, Alice!" She plugged her ears which we all knew had absolutely no effect, and when I could finally speak again, I ignored her and turned my embarrassment into confidence.

"You're forgetting the hand job I gave him first to make up for teasing him earlier," I threw in, crossing my arms.

Rosalie blanched and I patted her back.

"Don't pretend like you knew it when it was happening, Alice, you were totally oblivious or you would've had a comment for sure. You know Jasper's the one who figured it out and told you about it later.

She stuck her tongue out at me and that was the end of that as we all ended up in a fit of giggles when three gorgeous guys came in to give us our massages. I blushed when I saw them and made it a priority not to let Edward find out about this.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

While the girls went to the spa, we headed over to our scheduled sound check at Safeco Field and the girls were going to meet us there before the show. Obviously, we needed Alice and Bella to do our makeup. Between songs, while the sound crew adjusted different settings, we had a chance to talk, and Jasper and I were quick to ask about he and Rose. We were all relieved to find out he was going to be giving her somewhat of a chance. He told us how he realized that without Rose's decision all those years ago, we might not be the band we are today. It was obvious that Emmett would have gone to Hollywood with Rose if she'd given him the chance. Hell, they'd probably already be married with one on the way. But there was one resounding fact, something that would never have happened if Rose hadn't left.

I wouldn't have Bella.

These thoughts were going through my head while we ran through "Permanent" and I must have had a ridiculous look on my face because by the time I came out of my "piano zone" Emmett and Jasper were guffawing on the side, staring at me. I immediately knew Jasper told Emmett what happened at lunch that day. I merely grinned and stood up, walking back over to grab my guitar for the next song.

"Edward, I can't believe you!" Emmett howled. I still noticed a certain amount of pride on his face anyway—classic Emmett.

"Well it's true." I smirked and nudged the pegs on my guitar to sharpen the pitch.

"That'll teach us to underestimate Edward, I guess. No longer a dandy, welcome to the world of men, bro," Jasper teased and I rolled my eyes as a thought occurred to me.

I looked up at them, the smirk gone from my face, my eyes serious. "Don't say anything to Bella," I begged them. "I can handle the jabs but it'll embarrass her."

"Edward, please!" Emmett huffed. "What do you take us for?!"

I stared at him incredulously. "Especially you, Emmett McCarty," I pointed my finger at him. "I know how you are and you better not mention a word of this to Bella."

He rolled his eyes but nodded as the sound guys gave us the cue to start up another song.

The two hours until Bella showed up with Alice and Rosalie felt like eight, but the time eventually passed and before I knew it they were walking through the tunnels to the home team locker at Safeco Field which was functioning as our dressing room for the night. I heard their laughing and chatter before I saw them and I ignored Emmett and Jasper's laughs as my head shot up toward the sound of her voice.

She came through the doorway and I could tell by the look on her face the goal of her eyes was to find me as quickly as possible. I helped her out by getting up and crossing the room to her. I took her in my arms and my lips sought hers immediately.

"Okay you two were only separated for three hours," Alice teased.

Instead of telling her to shut up, Bella smiled wider at me and put her arms around my neck, then jumped up and wrapped her legs around my hips. "Three hours too long," she muttered against my lips before kissing me again. _God, I love this woman. _I kissed her back and kept one arm around her lower back.

"I love you," I whispered to her.

"Mmm," she hummed as her fingers went into my hair.

Someone cleared their throat and everyone was staring at us when we finally looked away from each other. Bella blushed furiously and I kissed her cheek. "The throat clearer is right," I chuckled. "The show is soon and I believe my lovely make-up artist has a job to do."

"Okay, okay," she laughed and took my hand, pulling me over to the elevated make-up chair.

As she did so, my eye caught Rosalie's blond hair and noticed that she was standing by Emmett, smiling about something or other. Bella must have noticed too, because when I turned back to her, she was grinning with her eyes shifted in their direction. When she looked away, she grabbed the ivory-colored liquid goop she called stage foundation and I looped my fingers in her belt loops and pulled her closer to me. She smiled down at me and kissed my nose before squirting some foundation onto the foam wedge. I pulled her down so she was straddling my lap and she laughed, but began working on my face from that position.

"I can see where they used to be the 'it' couple," she told me quietly when it was obvious that no one else was listening.

"I'm so glad to see them getting along." I turned my head over that way when Bella swapped out the foundation for the bronzer and blush. I looked back at her and made a face at the compacted powder in her hands.

She laughed and rolled her eyes, knowing I hated it. "You know I have to put this on, Edward. You'll be washed out if I don't."

I huffed and gripped her hips tighter but let her apply the color to my face. She grabbed the eyeliner and held it up. "My favorite part, my gorgeous rock star lover," she moved her lips toward mine, darting her tongue out to trace along my lower lip. I met her tongue with mine and kissed her deeply, groaning when she pushed her hips down into my lap.

She pulled her lips away and grinned at me as she took the cover from the eyeliner. She started to apply it skillfully to the rims around my eyes while I kept trying to kiss her and she had to slap me away. "Edward I'm gonna end up poking you in the eye if you don't knock that off," she scolded me, tapping my nose with her finger.

"Sorry," I muttered and she kissed my forehead with a laugh before finishing with the eyeliner.

**Bella's POV**

I kissed Edward once more just as I finished applying the small amount of mascara that I usually put on him. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was five minutes to seven.

"You have to go, baby," I whispered, climbing of his lap.

He stood from the chair and pulled me back to him, locking his arms around my waist. "You're going watch, aren't you?" He sounded like a little puppy as he gazed at me through his black-lined eyes.

"Edward," I laughed, holding his face between my hands. I kissed his lips which were slightly smushed together and totally delicious-looking. "When have I not watched you? What a dumb question."

His puckered lips formed into a smile as I let go of his face to wrap my arms around his neck. "You don't know how much that means to me, love."

His British rocker accent was back and I had to kiss him. I tried to pretend like I didn't let out a girlie giggle right before hand but he caught me and laughed. "Edward, you seriously have to go," I breathed against his lips.

He grinned and started to walk out of the dressing room with Jasper and Emmett. It was then that I remembered the most important thing I was supposed to give him before the show. I rummaged quickly through my Mary Poppins style purse and found it relatively quickly without having to pull out any coat racks or floor lamps.

"Edward!" I called, running toward the exit to the locker room where they were going to come out through the dugout.

I thought I was going to be too late, but he turned and weaved his way back to me. "Is something wrong, love?" he asked, reaching for my upper arm.

I smiled widely to reassure him and shook my head. "No, no, you just forgot this," I explained, holding up his well-worn black tank top that he had given me after the show the day before.

He chuckled and hugged my upper body tightly, kissing my neck. "So this belongs to you now except for when I have a show?"

"That's the general idea," I nodded.

"I thought you were going to frame it," he teased, pulling back to look at me.

"Oh, I will…when you retire it. But right now I think you still need it, at least for one last show." I was truthfully worried that it was sort of a good luck charm and something would happen if he didn't have it with him during a show.

"I have an idea, love," he said, handing the tank top back to me. "Why don't you hold onto it during this show, and if I need it I'll run offstage and you can give it to me. If it turns out I don't need it, I'll take you to a frame store tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes but kissed him and patted his butt a couple of times. "Sounds good to me, now get out there. They're screaming your name like crazy."

He winced dramatically then flashed me a smile. "See you later, baby," he said before running after the other guys. He was lucky a late entrance worked for the band's front man. I had to plug my ears at the deafening scream when he showed his glorious face on that stage.

Their manager, James, who I'd always personally thought should cut off his long blond ponytail and get a buzz cut, touched my elbow and shouted over the noise to us to follow him. Alice, Rose, and I nodded, and followed him out of the dugout and up a set of steps leading to the top of the dugout. He told us we could watch the show here, and as I turned to face the stage I realized we had prime seats. I thanked him and he nodded, heading back down to watch the show from the sound and lights booth. The three of us sat down and swung our feet from the edge. We spent the entire concert with our arms around each other's shoulders and swaying to the music, singing loudly with every song.

As I watched Edward strum his electric guitar with immense skill and practice, with his eyes shut tight as he sang his heart out into the microphone, I realized that those fingers had been deep within my warmth earlier that day. And I immediately made plans for his fingers for later that night, and I was going to make his eyes shut tight and instead of lyrics to a song, he'd be screaming my name. And he was definitely leaving that eyeliner on while my nails dug into the tattoo on his back.

Rosalie leaned over to whisper something in my ear and I was suddenly very chagrined that I'd been having such thoughts in front of his sister. But I was distracted from my embarrassment when I heard what she'd said.

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**Author's Note: Dun dun dunnnn!!! What did Rosalie say? To tell you the truth, I don't know yet. I have plans for the next chapter, but this one was just not ending itself on a good note!! I have a few ideas of interesting things she could've said to Bella, but they're all rather lame. Any ideas???? I'm always very open to suggestions, guys!!**

**If you're not already, follow me on Twitter!! Username--bellin715 **


	8. Chapter 8: Kiss on the Neck

**Author's Note: Sorry, no quote at the beginning of this chapter. You'll get plenty of this song later on in the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: "Kiss on the Neck" is property of David Cook, whom I know I use far too much in this story…in fact, I just decided that this story is dedicated to him. Follow him on Twitter! thedavidcook

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**Chapter Eight**

**Kiss on the Neck**

**Bella's POV**

My head turned toward Rosalie and the remains of the snack I ate in the car churned in my stomach. "Are you…" My throat felt like it was closing in, so I swallowed and started over. "Are you serious?" I asked her, hoping she could hear me over all the noise.

She looked at me like she wasn't expecting my reaction, with her mouth slightly open ad an eyebrow slightly raised.

_"Edward plays this song to get girls to go crazy. He makes them feel like he's seducing them." _ She'd said it while laughing, and though I knew she was definitely joking around with me, I didn't think it was very funny. Had he deliberately lied to me about never being with any other women? I knew perfectly well he could get any woman he wanted with hardly a snap of his finger.

I'd heard the song countless times. "Kiss on the Neck" was one of my favorites…because it always made me go crazy for Edward. I shut my eyes tight and ignored what Rosalie was trying to say to me.

_"I can say you were lost / When you walked into the room, such and cliché / Hollywood's full of girls like you/ With your backbone stuck inside your purse."_

Those words had always been directed at Rosalie, I knew that now, but she didn't seem to mind. But the words he spoke to his female audience never hit me until now.

_"We can win you over / With just a kiss on the neck."_ Of course. He could have any of them he wanted with just a kiss on the neck. Hell, he could make their panties drop with just one glance at them.

With my eyes closed, I hadn't realized Edward was right next to me until he took my hand. He was squatting next to me on the dugout with the spotlight directly over both of us. I blushed immensely and tried to hide myself behind him from the thousands of people that were turned toward us right now. But in a baseball diamond setting, the fans were literally in a circle around us and I couldn't hide behind anyone.

So I focused all of my concentration on only Edward, looking him directly in the eye. My eyes were probing his as I tried to figure out what he was doing and why he'd left the stage to come over here. My anger and my million questions about his alleged lies were quickly shoved into a far corner of my mind while he sang to me.

_You're the sweetest thing I've seen_

_To think that you were meant for me_

_And I got just one thing to say_

_With just a kiss on the neck._

_You can say I was lost_

_When I walked into the room, such an old cliché_

_I can never get a girl like you_

_With my backbone stuck inside your purse._

_This fairy tale couldn't get much [better]_

_I'm a broken man and you, [Bella], know _

_You can win me over_

_With just a kiss on the neck_

_K-k-k-kiss on the neck._

It was so hard to be angry with him when he was now changing the lyrics of his song just for me. And he knew how much I hated attention, but when he was squatting in front of me, I suddenly forgot that there was anyone watching us at all. Like always with him, it was suddenly like we were the only two people on the planet and everyone else had just fallen into some sort of black hole. When he finished the last line, the band kept playing, giving him a minute. He brushed my hair back behind my shoulder and kissed me gently on the neck. I closed my eyes and felt my lips mold themselves into an idiotic smile. Just to show him that I understood the words he sang to me, I leaned forward and kissed him right at the pulse point on his neck. Still in my own little world, I let my kiss linger for a moment and I pulled away, and then winked at him.

He whispered in my ear that he loved me just before he left and ran back to the stage. As I watched his bare, tatt00ed back retreat, I clenched my fist tighter around the black tank top that had belonged to him for so long. Yes, he was doing just fine without it on him during the performance. It was time to frame it.

I ignored Alice and Rosalie as they giggled on either side of me, leaning over me to talk. I had no idea if they were even talking to me. My eyes were still fixed on my stunning boyfriend as they jumped into the next song. I let my thoughts meander to the lyrics he sang directly to me. The way the lyrics changed in that verse to, "With my backbone stuck inside your purse." The corner of my mouth lifted up. Was it some sort of way of telling me that he was severely whipped? I could hear the exaggerated onomatopoeia now. The _whatchaaa_ sound in my mind was complete with the arm motion of cracking a whip. I laughed quietly. I was certainly okay with being the one who was doing the metaphoric whipping. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind right now that he loved me with all that he was. That didn't stop a few questions regarding other song lyrics from cropping up in my mind, but I told myself I would ask him later. I doubted very highly that I would forget to do so.

**Edward's POV**

With all the lights, lasers, smoke, and screaming going on around me, it was a wonder how my Bella Sense managed to kick in. But I felt something reaching in and squeezing at my heart despite all of the distractions, and my first instinct was to look over at Bella where my heart was concerned. Her eyes were shut tight, and not in a way that told me she was simply concentrating on listening to the music. I knew that she loved to close her eyes during concerts, but she always had a much more peaceful look on her face. I knew something was wrong, but I had no idea what it could have been.

I decided that I needed to go to her while I sang the part of the song that was for her. It would never matter to me how many girls I had screaming my name or how many of them came running across busy streets just to get my autograph. The point of this song was to convey that I could have any of them with just one simple maneuver, but that it would take even less than that for Bella to win me over.

I was immensely relieved that my little trick seemed to work on her, and she smiled at me and returned my words of love after I sang to her. All I wanted was to see her smile. Once I'd accomplished that, I ran back to the stage, because Lord knows the last thing anyone wants at a rock concert is a bored audience. So while I focused on pouring everything into the songs, I reserved enough space to keep tabs on Bella. She seemed mostly back to herself as she swayed along with Rose and Alice to all the songs she knew by heart.

As Emmett and Jasper struck the chords to our final song of the evening and I moved to the piano to play along, I knew that this would be one they couldn't sing along to quite yet. It was a last-minute add to the set list, something we'd just written in the last couple of weeks.

After singing the first couple of verses at the piano, I flung my electric guitar from where it'd been resting on my back, held on by the strap. This was definitely one of my new favorite songs, and it had a different sound from some of the songs we usually wrote.

_If this is the last song I'll ever sing_

_Then I'm giving it everything_

_I'm giving it all_

_If this is the last song I'll ever play_

_Then I guess it's time to take _

_My curtain call_

_I'm dying to thank you all_

_I'm dying to thank you all_

_I'm dying to thank you all_

_Thank you all, yeah_

_One more song before I've got to go_

_(I'm singing ohhhh)_

_From the bottom of my soul_

_(And hear it ohhhh)_

_Every single word and every note_

_I'm pleading_

_Let me hear you sing it all once more with feeling_

I loved hearing the audience singing along with us. There was something about the fact that every single one of them knew all of our songs that sent shivers right down my spine. If I had to pick my favorite thing about being a rock star it was that. The response from the audience. People are always surprised to learn that I actually enjoy country music quite a bit, but I've always thought that Rascal Flatts hit the feeling smack on the head with their song, "Here's to You." I'd always meant to get the rights to do an arrangement of that song that was more our style, and I made a mental note to look into it. After the singing most of the song with my guitar during the upbeat part, I ended it by going back to the piano and hitting the last final notes with the feeling that was promised during the chorus. Just as the Emmett, Jasper and I had hoped, the response from the audience to our new song was deafening. I glanced over and saw Bella beaming with pride at me. She lifted her hands and formed a heart with her fingers. I smiled at her and lifted my right hand, putting up three fingers to for the sign language for "I love you."

After an appropriate amount of time and gracious head nods—the rocker's way of taking a bow—I stepped back toward the microphone and held it up, with my right hand as I held the neck of my guitar steady with my left hand. "Thank you, Seattle. See you soon and good night!"

The lights dimmed and the microphones turned off as we headed backstage. Emmett started laughing and sang, "I gotta feelin', wooo hoooo."

I turned around and glanced at him with an eyebrow raised before Jasper and I erupted in laughter. Emmett's brow furrowed. "Hey, shut up. When you said good night that song came in my head." When we just kept laughing he ignored us with a roll of his eyes and headed toward the dressing room while Jasper and I waited for Alice and Bella. After pulling Bella in for a tight hug, I told Rose that Emmett was busy pouting because we were being bullies and she laughed but headed to the dressing room anyway.

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**Bella's POV**

I closed the door to our hotel room behind us, exponentially grateful that we were finally alone. Edward smiled and started to back towards the bathroom.

"I'm just going to clean up a bit," he told me casually. Well, his voice was casual, but he was trying desperately to hide a mischievous smirk. He was waiting for me to beg him not to wash his eyeliner off. Two could play, as in all games.

I grinned at him and nodded. "I'll make some coffee. I have the feeling we'll be up for a while." I turned my back on him and walked to the kitchen, pulling out the most important ingredient for coffee out first—the Bailey's Irish Cream. As I opened the cupboard and reached up for a coffee filter, I felt his hands on my waist before he pressed himself up against my back. I was caught between a…counter…and a hard place. Not such a bad place to be. I considered my win to be a huge accomplishment. I would normally have no problem succumbing to anything Edward plans for me, because could Juliet say "no" to Romeo? Could Eve say "no" to Adam? Well we knew the answer to the latter question was a resounding no. I mentally grumbled at Eve for a quick moment before I turned around in Edward's arms and all was forgotten.

"Will I ever win a game with you?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

I laughed and lifted my shoulders slightly. "I'm sure it's more than likely that you'll win plenty, Edward. You're rather irresistible, you know."

"I do know, but you shouldn't have told me," he jibed as he lowered his lips to my neck, kissing from my jaw down to my slightly-exposed collar bone.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes as he lifted my shirt over my head. "Coffee later," he mumbled and I nodded in easy agreement. My head lolled back, and with my sense of sight inhibited by my closed eyes, it was all touch and sound. His fingers left goose bumps in their wake as they traveled from my shoulders, down my sides, all the way to my hips where he looped his thumbs into the waistband of my jeans. He wasted no time, not bothering to unbutton them before pulling them down my legs. My eyes jerked open when I realized the complete unfairness of the situation regarding our clothing.

I narrowed my eyes at him and one corner of his lips twitched upward. _Oh don't you even think about using that crooked smile to win me over, Cullen, _I thought before telling him aloud.

"Ohh, no, no, no," I laughed and pushed him slightly back by his shoulders. I took his hand and started to back out of the kitchen area, but his hands found my hips again and he pushed me gently against the barstools. I thrust my hand out, found his t-shirt, and brushed my hand down his abdomen and found the hem. I used both hands to yank it over his head and immediately started kissing his smooth, hard chest, twirling my tongue around one of his nipples briefly.

"Bed, Bella," he breathed. "Sex in a bed…at least this once."

I blushed and nodded while laughing quietly in my head. _How romantic…he wants to make it to the bed first._ I moved one foot forward to walk over to the bed, but he caught me again and hooked his arm behind my knees, scooping me up easily.

"The floor isn't good enough for your feet, my Bella," he explained, kissing my shoulder.

My eyes pricked involuntarily and I stroked his cheek with the pad of my thumb. "How presumptuous of your arms, then," I pointed out. My intention was to sound teasing, but those damn tears were interfering so I kissed him. It was useless to joke around when the truth was that his words were ridiculous and ridiculously sweet at the same time.

My tongue found his gradually, but soon we were locked in what felt like a permanent kiss. I felt him lay me on my back when we reached it, and he hovered over me, his knee between my legs. "Pants off, Edward…please." I reached a hand up and traced his black-lined eye gently. I remembered my concentration on his magical fingers while he was playing earlier, and in turn I remembered the plans I had for those fingers tonight. Mmm, on second thought, those plans could wait. I needed all of him right now, and we had a lifetime for foreplay.

I was glad to see he obeyed without even a breath of an argument, and he pulled his pants and boxers off in one fell swoop. I saw no problem in reciprocating his enthusiasm, so I sat up and, not bothering with the clasp, I yanked my bra over my head with my eyes locked with Edward's. I saw his eyes grow dark—a monstrous shadow of lust creeping over the rich green fields beneath. Without so much as a blink of an eye, my underwear was gone and Edward was on top of me.

I giggled like a little girl and locked my arms around his neck. I lifted my head to capture my lips with his and moaned softly at his eagerness. My right leg wound around his left and I pushed my hips up to meet his, the delicious friction making both of our tongues pulse harder against each other. My left hand found his hair and I gripped tightly causing him to growl deep in his chest. I'd awoken the monster and I smiled in satisfaction. I reached down between our legs and positioned him at my entrance. "Sing to me without words," I whispered before I kissed each of his eyelids, then his lips.

**Edward's POV**

The thing I loved most about my relationship with Bella was that no matter what we were doing, we never lost ourselves. Even when I had the urge to, for lack of a better term, fuck her silly, I tried to pour reverence into every thrust. With her hand fisted around my shaft trying to guide me to her wet folds, I knew that we were both feeling that sense of urgency and wanting to drown in wild abandon. But the words she whispered to reminded us both what we were to each other. The words of any song never vanished. They were forever engraved in history as long as they made an impression on someone. Our love was a song, never getting lost.

I pressed my forehead lightly to hers as I slid into her. My arms almost buckled but I fought to stay above her. She must have noticed my weakness because she pushed my hair back from my forehead and pulled me down by my triceps so that every inch of our bodies was touching. I didn't move, stilling myself inside her as I felt her close to me. Her breath was hot on my lips and I pressed my lips to hers. Her hands slid down my back, pulling me deeper within her when she gripped my behind in her palms. My breath hissed out long and slow between my teeth when she started moving her hips slowly beneath me. We settled into a slow, comfortable rhythm and even our breathing was starting to match.

She kept one arm around my back while her nails dug into my ass but she removed her other hand. I huffed out a breath at the loss of contact but she reached her hand down between our bodies, and her knuckles brushed against my pelvic bone as she started to rub herself. It felt like the gentlemanly thing to do to assist her, but at the moment I was far more interested in the idea of her doing it herself. I shifted my eyes downward to watch and started to move faster, needing the extra friction with what I was looking at. Bella's fingers worked her clit with what seemed to be a certain acquired skill. I'd have to ask her about that.

The back of her head pressed further down into the pillow and I felt her walls starting to clench around me. One tremor from her delicious little body was my undoing, and I released inside her. I pumped a couple more times until she shattered beneath me. I wrapped my arms tight around her to hold together the fallen pieces and kissed her face in random places.

"I love you," she breathed to me as I pulled out of her.

I smiled and moved over to her side, bringing her with me. "Bella, you know I love you too."

We were both quiet for quite some time while I rubbed her arm gently, but I could tell by the way she was staring at the ceiling that there was something on her mind. I wouldn't press the issue, but there was something she wanted to tell or ask me, and I had the feeling that it was related to her distant looks at the concert.

Eventually, she turned to me and wrapped both her arms around my waist.

**Bella's POV**

Right now was as good a time as any to voice the questions I had for him. I wasn't necessarily sure that they would make any sort of difference in our relationship, but they were still things that I wanted to know, and felt that I deserved the right to know if we were going to share a life together while he traveled around the country with girls of all ages falling all over him. I had no doubt that many of them were probably much sexier than me, and it felt like such a real threat to me despite how often he told me he loved me. It wasn't that I thought Edward would cheat on me, but if he would lie to me about the songs he'd written, would he lie to me about the advances of different girls?

With those questions in mind, I knew it was only fair to ask him. I'd never directly questioned his song lyrics, so I couldn't very well accuse him of deliberately lying about them.

So once I'd mustered up enough courage, I turned to him and wrapped my arms tightly around my man. "I never knew 'Kiss on the Neck' was your way of getting girls excited. Rosalie told me, and I just wondered to what extent you used that song in the past."

He let out a breath and pulled me closer. "Oh, Bella…I met you before I wrote that song, which you know. That last part was always for you. And I used it after a slow song to get them screaming again, because my favorite part about going to concerts when I was younger was the pure adrenalin that pumped through my veins while the amps shook the very floor that we stood on.

I smiled in a bit of relief. "I think I knew that…it was just bothering me. I'm sorry."

He tilted my chin up so that I would look at him and he kissed me briefly, pulling my lower lip gently between his. "Bella, never apologize for the way you feel. I always want you to tell me your concerns, and none of them will be inconsequential to me. Ever."

"Are there any other songs that I misunderstood the lyrics to?" I asked quietly. I wanted to make sure he didn't think I was asking out of additional anger, just pure curiosity.

He paused for a moment as though thinking through his words, which worried me a little. Any sign of having to plan ahead for his answer wasn't very promising.

"Permanent," he sighed, his voice so quiet that I could barely hear him.

"Permanent?" I repeated. It was silly, but I felt like a little bit of me was breaking. I'd always wondered how the words really related to our relationship, but his actions while he sang it made it feel like that song truly belonged to me. I hadn't realized that my voice sounded a bit broken until he pulled me closer and kissed my forehead tenderly.

"It's not what you think, baby," he explained. "It wasn't for some other girl, okay it was, but that girl was Rosalie. It was my way of telling her from our whole family that she could always come home."

Rosalie. I could handle that. That was okay.

"I'm still working on the perfect song for you, Bella. I'm having the hardest time putting my feelings for you into adequate words." To many women that would have sounded like a lousy excuse, but from Edward's lips to my ears I knew it was true. I nodded and smiled as the words for "Permanent" ran through my head.

"I know he's living in hell every single day," I repeated, looking at him.

He smiled weakly and nodded, confirming her silent question. "Emmett," he said. "Emmett is also the reason I had to make it look like that song was for you. It would have killed him to know I was thinking about Rosalie long enough to write a song for her. But she's my sister, Bella."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," I assured him. "Family comes first. Does Rosalie know it's for her?"

He shrugged slightly as his thumb traced nonsensical patters on the small of my back. "She never brought it up."

I closed my eyes and smiled against his chest. "I'm sure she knows. It's a beautiful song."

He was quiet for a moment until he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "Sleep, Bella."

My eyes and body were way ahead of him as I started to drift off. "Tomorrow?" I asked sleepily.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to see my childhood home," he whispered as he stroked my hair. "I promised my parents I would water the plants. They're in Portland for some hospital function until Monday afternoon, so they won't be home all day tomorrow."

Truthfully, there was nothing I wanted more than to see the home he grew up in. It was hard to believe that he'd grown up in Forks, where my father had lived my whole life. I didn't move to Seattle until college, so that probably explained why we'd never met. "Do you think if I'd lived with my dad that we would've met in high school and still had this life together?"

He chuckled quietly and kissed the top of my head again. "I'd really like to think that, Bella. I know I would've loved you. The question is whether or not I'd be your famous rock star."

I giggled silently, my shaking body the only evidence that I'd laughed at all. "I love that part, but I really just need you."

"I know." I could practically hear the smirk in his answer. "Sleep now, my love."

I only had enough time to kiss his chest before I fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.

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**Author's Note: Yes, I quoted "I Gotta Feelin'" by Black Eyed Peas in addition to David Cook, and "The Last Song" is by McFly. Follow them on Twitter, too! (Three of the four band members anyway.) tommcfly, dannymcfly, and dougiemcfly. I love those guys. If you're not familiar with them, check 'em out. **

**You guys know reviews are always more than appreciated, and I'll try to reply to most of them! **

**If you're not already, follow me on Twitter--bellin715 (If you do follow me, let me know in a review what your username is!) **

**Xoxo**

**Emma**


	9. Chapter 9:Ticket to Ride

**Warning: Explicit adult content—18 and up please.

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**Chapter Nine**

**Ticket to Ride**

**Bella's POV**

_"T-t-t-totally duuuuude. Party like a rock…party like a rock starrr.."_

I knew I wasn't dreaming that I was in a Shop Boyz music video, because I didn't even like the stupid one-hit wonders, so I bolted awake wondering why that of all songs was waking me up. I looked at Edward, knowing it must have been his phone because it sure as hell wasn't mine. Was I rethinking being with him because his ringtone was an overly-repetitive "song" by a bunch of talentless rappers who had to have a bunch of technical effects to make that "song" somewhat catchy? Never…but close.

He was staring at me with the same expression when I looked over, but I just shook my head with a smirk, indicating that it wasn't mine. He groaned and blushed as he rolled over to pick up his phone. I giggled and watched the way his muscles in his back flexed under his tattoo with the motion.

"Emmett must've set that to his ringer ID when he borrowed my iPhone the other day, the fucker," he muttered as he pressed the button to answer with speaker phone. "What do you want, d-bag?" he growled into the receiver. I pinched his bare thigh and pursed my lips at his behavior.

"Just wanted to see if you liked your new ringtone," I heard Emmett's voice answer on the other end.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it suits you perfectly. Nice choice." He hung up and put the phone back on the nightstand. A mischievous smirk grew on his lips as he lay back down next to me, pulling our bodies closer. That was when I realized we were no longer naked. Edward was wearing boxers, and I found myself in another pair of his boxers and one of his wife-beater tank tops. His smirk turned into a smile as he realized what I must have been thinking when I looked down. "I, uh…you were out like a light but shivering a little, so I put those on you before I fell asleep," he admitted quietly.

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Very thoughtful," I whispered. "Speaking of thoughtful…you can't hide that smirk from me." I raised an eyebrow and ran my fingers down his back, over the hump of his glorious glutes.

"Payback's a bitch," he answered with a malicious grin.

"What are you planning?" I asked skeptically. I knew it was probably just good fun between him and Emmett, but the last thing they needed was to start getting involved in ridiculous pranks. More importantly, I didn't want to end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and get hit with the brunt of one meant for Edward.

"Don't worry, love," he assured me with a carefree laugh that coaxed a wide smile from me. I loved knowing he was so happy that he could laugh like that without a care in the world.

"Nothing insane?" I asked as I trailed the pads of my fingers gently back up his spine.

"Nothing insane," he promised as he kissed my forehead. For most people, a kiss on the forehead was nothing special. And if I had received it from anyone else, I might feel the same way. But from Edward, it was a sign that my world was still turning. It was lovely reassurance in the simplest form.

"But you won't tell me?" I batted my eyelashes, but to no avail.

"Not a single word. Sorry, but this is serious business. You know," he started as his lips curved up, "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

I feigned shock and hit his shoulder. "Mr. Cullen! How dare you?!"

He simply smirked and pulled me closer to nuzzle his nose into my hair. "Ah, my Bella, as if I could ever lay a less-than-loving finger on you," he whispered, his hot breath fanning the side of my neck.

"I know, Edward," I assured him as I kissed his head. Of course I'd known all along it was a joke, but it was wonderful to hear him say it in such sweet words. He really did spoil me quite a bit.

"Are we still going to your parents' today?" I asked as I propped myself up on my elbow to lean over him.

He nodded and craned his neck up to kiss me. "How about a shower?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I laughed. "Yes, a shower would be wonderful!" I bolted out of bed and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind me, giggling like a little girl the whole way.

I heard the thump of his feet as he followed me out of bed. I leaned against the door, biting my lip to keep from laughing as he turned the doorknob uselessly. I could practically see the puppy dog face he was surely giving me through the door. I realized I was right as he completed the effect by scratching the wood of the door.

"Okay, Edward, listen," I started, trying to sound all business. The scratching stopped and I smiled. "You can come in with me if you promise me no hanky panky." The truth was, I was just starving and I was hoping to stop for breakfast on the way to his parents' house.

I waited for his answer and I could've sworn I actually heard him whimper before he muttered, "Fine."

I opened the door and he shuffled in with his head down. I covered my mouth to hide my smile. He kissed my forehead before heading over to the shower. He turned the knob nearly all the way to the left and stepped under the spray of water from the showerhead. I hadn't given a second thought to the fact that he went in with his boxers on until he threw them over the shower door…right at me. I caught them with one hand and smirked to myself before tossing them on the floor and stepping out of the clothes he'd dressed me in during the night. I was still busy adoring the fact that he'd taken such good care of me like that. I'd have to find a way to repay him later. Once I stepped in the shower and saw Edward starting at me while Little Edward stood at attention, I knew the promise for no hanky panky had gone out the window.

That was perfectly fine by me.

* * *

Edward's parents actually lived in Bellevue, across Lake Washington from Seattle. It was about a half-hour drive from the hotel which Edward and I spent listening to ridiculous nineties music courtesy of my iPod. It was a lovely compilation of Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, early Britney Spears, and a little 'N Sync. I was surprised to find that Edward actually didn't mind stepping back into the past to listen to that kind of music with me. I knew we were soul mates for a reason. And, as a musician, he should appreciate all types!

When we drove into the neighborhood and I saw the other houses, I expected his parents' house to look like all of those: a small two-story house or a relatively large ranch house. Instead, I found myself shocked it didn't have a gate complete with an intercom system. It was two stories and in an L-shape with a three-car garage.

Edward parked his oddly-pretentious-for-a-rock-star silver Volvo behind the garage door furthest to the left and pressed a button on a garage door opener on my sun visor. The door opened to reveal a car covered in a massive sheet.

"My favorite inanimate object," he breathed. "She never gets to come with me anywhere."

I looked over to see a huge smile on his face. "Oh that car under there is a she? Should I be jealous?"

He laughed, throwing his head back. "Of course not, love. If you were an inanimate object I'd love you much more than her. Or, you know…if she suddenly came alive like that Disney-Pixar movie."

I giggled and leaned over to kiss his cheek before we both climbed out of the Volvo. "So, what's under there, anyway?" I asked curiously. It must have been good if he loved it more than his Volvo. I walked toward the covered beast and reached my hand out for the tarp. I expected Edward to stop me, so I peeked over at him. He looked nervous with his lips pressed tightly together, but when he saw me looking at him he flashed me a small smile and nodded once. I smiled back and pulled the tarp off of the car, gasping when I saw what was underneath. I walked around to the rear of the car to check the words on the back before I made myself look like an idiot in front of him, but it turned out I was right about what kind it was. It was a sleek, black Aston Martin Vanquish. "Holy…" I breathed, running my fingers along the edge of the trunk. I heard him suck in a deep breath and looked up at him, pushing my hair back behind my ear. "What?"

* * *

**Edward's POV**

I never let anyone touch the Vanquish. Ever. When my parents gave it to me for college graduation and Emmett laid _one_ finger on the door handle, I punched his arm and made him cry like a little girl. Ever since then, everyone knew that you _don't_ touch Edward's Vanquish—no buts about it (unless your Rosalie and have a deep reverence for cars and volunteer to be my mechanic for free). Bella was different, though. It pained me greatly at first when I saw her hand going for the tarp. But I wanted to trust her. I needed her to _see_ that I trusted her, and to me, this was the perfect way to do it. By the time the cover was completely off the car and piled on the ground next to my mom's Audi, I'd relaxed almost completely. I was glad I did, because I was able to appreciate the way she ran her fingers along the edge of the trunk. Never in my life had I seen something so erotic—I had to adjust my pants just watching her trail those fingers all the way along the bottom of the windows until she reached the driver's side rearview mirror. She was standing in front of me now, and I was sure my eyes were already dark and lust-filled. I put my hands on her hips before she spoke.

"When did you get this?" she asked quietly, her eyes locked on mine. I knew she could see what I was feeling, and the way I talked about the car as such a precious possession, I was sure she knew why. Perhaps she'd even done it on purpose, knowing what it would do to me to see her caress the metal that way.

I cleared my throat, but that didn't stop my voice from coming out raspy. "College graduation present from my parents."

"Spoiled little rich boy," she breathed as her hands fisted the front of my shirt.

"I'd resent that, but there's no room in my head for that right now with how turned on I am seeing you touch my other favorite girl. It's like…girl-on-girl porn," I teased with a crooked smile.

When she didn't giggle, it turned me on even more because it probably meant she hadn't found it funny—she was equally turned on by it.

I leaned down to nibble on her earlobe, blowing on the wet spot. "Does that make you hot, baby?" I whispered in her ear. She swallowed thickly and nodded in small gestures. "That's good…me too, Bella." I licked my lips and continued to whisper in her ear. "I just imagined my car as if she were a woman. She's not nearly as beautiful as you, but it's a damn hot sight watching you caress her like you just did to my car."

I felt her weight increase in my arms as he knees started to buckle. I had no idea lesbian talk would turn Bella on. I had the feeling she'd never agree to a threesome, but then again, I wouldn't necessarily want to, either. I liked the thought of having Bella all to myself sexually. I wouldn't want to share her for one night even if it meant watching her make out with a girl. "Fuck, baby. You have no idea how much it turns me on even more that me talking like that doesn't repel you."

"Just the opposite," she whispered. "As long as that other girl is really just a car and I know we don't live in a Beauty and the Beast world where people turn into talking objects, I'm perfectly fine with it."

"You're my only girl, Bella," I said before pecking her lips. "I love you."

I felt her smile against my cheek as I kissed her neck. "I love you, too, Edward."

She put her palm against the driver's side window to assist in holding herself up in addition to the support of my arms. "Edward…" she breathed as I sucked on her pulse point on her neck.

"Mmm?"

"I want you to…" she started as my hands roamed down her back to squeeze her behind while pressing her against my now-hard pelvis.

"To what, baby?" I said in between kisses down the exposed area of her chest. She'd worn a pretty blue sundress, leaving a lot of skin exposed.

"To fuck me against the hood of your car," she finished.

My knees almost buckled when her words registered in my sex-riddled brain. "Jesus Christ, really?" I pulled away slightly to look at her.

After she'd nodded only once, I was already pulling her over to it. I was so painfully hard I knew I needed her soon. There wouldn't be any messing around beforehand. She wanted me to fuck her against the hood of the Vanquish, so fuck her I would. Hard.

I spun her around without an assenting word on my part, and put my hand on her upper back between her shoulder blades. I pushed her forward gently and she rested her elbows on the hood of the car. I knew we were covered from sight of any of the neighbors by gigantic bushes on the driveway, so I didn't bother shutting the garage door. I quickly unzipped my jeans and pulled my rock hard dick from my boxer-briefs which were already a bit soaked from pre cum and she hadn't even touched me. I pulled her skirt up and shoved her thong to the side. I let my fingers graze her folds, delightfully pleased to find her already wet and more than ready for me—she was incredibly swollen. Fuck, maybe the talk of her making out with my personified car was more of a turn-on for her than I thought. Mother fucker, I had the best goddamn girlfriend in the world.

I dipped my first two fingers in her and pulled them out quickly. I reached forward with that same hand. "Open your mouth, Bella. Taste yourself." I felt her lips part under my fingers and I could even see her reflection in the windshield the way the sun was bouncing off of it. As soon as her tongue circled around my fingertips and she hummed in pleasure at the taste of herself, I'd had enough. I shoved the thong to the side further and shoved my cock into her. I knew I was being rough, but I also knew that that was how we both wanted it. I gripped her hips hard and pounded into her as she gripped the hood of the car.

Both of our grunts were loud and animalistic as I pounded into her repeatedly. Her left arm angled slightly inward so she could remove her right arm from the car and still balance herself. Her fingers found her clit and she rubbed hard. I looked down and discovered that not only could I see my shaft being drawn in and out of her wet, pink cunt, but I could see her fingers moving relentlessly against her sensitive bundle of nerves. I glanced up and saw that she was watching my movements in the windshield, and I met her eyes briefly before looking back down.

"Fuck, Bella. I can't fucking take it anymore," I all but whimpered. "I'm gonna fucking juice your pussy, baby."

She moaned loudly and I saw her eyes close in the windshield. Okay, so mental note: _Talking dirty as hell is something she fucking loves._ Could I perhaps be rewarded with her returning the favor?

"Spill in my pussy, Edward. Unggghhh fuck yes." _Yesss!!!!! Oh God, yeah._ " No. Not in my pussy this time, baby. I changed my mind," she groaned. "I want you to fucking come on the hood of your car. I want to watch what I did to you as you spill it all over your precious car."

Normally, hell no. For her? FUCK yes.

I pulled my cock out of her right before I knew I was going to explode and shoved three fingers into her as I exploded an unusually massive amount of cream onto the black shiny surface of the hood of my car. She gasped and I felt her walls start to clench around my fingers. Still a bit hard, I pushed my cock back into her and rubbed furiously at her clit as she climaxed around my shaft.

I pulled out of her slowly and zipped my pants back up before replacing her thong and pulling her skirt down. She stood up and faced me, a ridiculously adorable smile on her face. Almost as if, after all those words we just said, she was feeling embarrassed. I reached up and stroked her cheek with my thumb while my other arm looped around her waist and pulled her close to me. "Thank you, Bella." I smiled crookedly and kissed the corner of her lips. "I had no idea that was even a fantasy until I saw your beautiful fingers tracing the metal of the Vanquish." To emphasize, I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed the pads of her fingers one by one.

"Funny," she laughed, "I never knew it was a fantasy of mine either. You see, I'm not always very big on cars. But…you apparently are," she said with a not-so-sly glance at my crotch.

I smiled and kissed her gently. "You head inside and grab something to drink if you like." I handed her the house key, showing her which one to use on the service door in the garage. "I know that I defaced my car just for you, but I can't let it sit there," I winked.

She nodded with a smirk and I watched her retreat into the house. I quickly got some supplies and wiped the cum from the hood of my car. Once I was sure it was fully cleaned (_very, very_ thoroughly) I kissed the hood in a spot where I didn't _think_ any of my seed had spilled, and proceeded to apologize to the car. "I'm very sorry, but you see…I've met someone else, and I do love her more than you. So I simply couldn't say no. I hope we can still be good friends." I rolled my eyes at myself but chuckled, shaking my head.

I put away the cleaning supplies and headed into the house to find Bella and hopefully a beer. She was no longer in the kitchen which was the first room off the garage, but I made a pit stop at the refrigerator and fist-pumped discreetly when I discovered a twelve-pack of Rolling Rock sitting on the shelf. Well…it was an eleven-pack. Bella must have chosen that because due to the Post-It attached, I deduced that it was a fresh case put in there just for us.

_Dear Edward and Bella,_

_Thanks so much for taking care of the house for us for the rest of the weekend. I know a case of beer is a weak form of thanks, but I do know that it's your favorite. I put some old scrapbooks on the living room coffee table if you're interested. _

_Much love to the both of you,_

_Mom (and Dad even though the beer was my idea)_

I had the best mother in the world, it was true. Rewarding me with beer was just one of the many wonderful things that were so typical of her. I snatched one from the box and headed to the living room. I had the feeling that was where Bella headed when she saw the note. I wasn't exactly stoked about showing her my baby pictures, but if it pleased her I would do it.

Sure enough, I walked into the living room and found her curled up on the plush tan loveseat with a beer in her left hand and a large scrapbook resting half on her lap, half on the left arm of the couch. She smiled up at me and I returned it as I sat close to her, draping my left arm over her shoulders.

"You. Were. Adorable," she gushed, emphasizing each word. "They're all precious, but this one's my favorite so far." She pointed to me in a Little League baseball uniform, complete with a glove tucked under my left arm and an aluminum bat slung over my right shoulder.

I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks when she pointed to the picture. I knew this was going to be humiliating, but at least she thought I was adorable and not ass-ugly, right? I mean…some kids are. I feel like I was lucky even if my stupid aunts always did pinch my cheeks constantly. Oh wait…they still fucking do, especially Aunt Carmen. It's ridiculous.

She turned the page and my life was replayed in still-form right before my eyes. She went through middle school, and then made it to high school, and finally college. There were a few from present day, like newspaper clippings from concerts and awards we won. There was a whole two-page spread dedicated to the Grammys and when our album went platinum for the first time. When we got to high school, though, she flipped back and forth between a couple pages, looking confused.

"Prom?" she asked, looking up at me.

I shrugged. I never went to prom. Truth be told, I hated most of the girls at my high school. They made my skin crawl. "I didn't want to go. I thought it was a cliché waste of time. Though, if you had gone to my high school, I wouldn't have been opposed at all. I would've been first in line to ask you."

She smiled and kissed my jaw before continuing to flip through the pages. Once she was finished, she shut the book and her brow was furrowed like she was lost in thought. I raised an eyebrow at her while I waited for her to say something.

"I still vote on the peewee baseball one as my favorite," she concluded with a smile.

I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway. "It was Little League, Bella. Peewee makes it sound nerdy. It was fun."

"Hey, I love baseball!" she defended herself. "Go Mariners, baby!"

I smirked and kissed her. "She drinks Rolling Rock and is a Mariners fan. Though, I'm surprised you're not a D-Backs fan."

She shrugged and took a sip from the green beer bottle in her hand. "They kinda suck and are pretty much off the radar unless you live _in_ Arizona."

Damn, maybe this girl really did know what she was talking about. Yeah. _My_ girl was a baseball junkie. How did I never know this about her? "How did I never know you loved baseball that much?"

She shrugged again. "I don't love it so much that I randomly bring it up. Baseball's never come up with us until now," she laughed.

"Okay, okay," I laughed. "Speaking of which, I think the Mariners are on right now," I said, checking my watch before picking up the remote and flipping to Fox Sports Net.

"Oh the Twins!" she squealed, setting the scrapbook aside and sipping her beer again as she fixed her eyes intently on the screen.

I stared at her for a moment with a raised eyebrow. "Justin Morneau," she said indifferently before gazing up at me. Apparently Jusin Morneau batting was good enough excuse for her to look up at me. "What?" she asked when she saw the way I was looking at her.

"Why do you care so much that they're playing the Twins?" I asked.

"Well, for two reasons," she said seriously. She held up one finger and said, "First reason is J.J. Hardy. He just got traded to the Twins from the Brewers and we finally get to see his sweet ass more often because he's American League now and the Mariners play his team. I'm not about to pay twenty bucks a month for MLB network online just to watch National League games. Second reason is Joe Mauer. Enough said. He's such a sweetie pie and he's adorable."

"I'm certainly offended," I joked.

"Oh, don't worry, baby! I've had a crush on you for _way_ longer," she assured me with a nod.

I laughed and kissed her cheek. "I'm so very flattered. But if you say one more thing about J.J. Hardy's sweet ass I may have to make a phone call to the Brewers' general manager and beg them to take J.J. Hardy back."

She giggled and shook her head. "I'll shut up about him, because I really would like the Twins to keep him. Just be glad he's not a Mariner."

"Oh believe me, babe, I'm way ahead of you on that. I'm beyond grateful."

She kissed me softly, lingering there for a moment before pulling away and smiling at me.

"Hungry?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, actually, I'm starved. And I have a great idea for lunch."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Tailgate food!" she said excitedly in a way that reminded me strangely of Alice. "Hot dogs on the grill, baked beans, and ripple potato chips with French onion dip."

"Honestly, Bella, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I'll get right on it, and I'm sure my mom has everything, down to the very specific ripple potato chips."

She smiled and turned her attention back to the game. I wouldn't have had it any other way. She wouldn't be lifting a finger while she was here with me. I wanted to worship her in the short amount of time we had left together before our tour break was over. I headed into the kitchen, and sure enough, we had everything down to the ripple potato chips.

* * *

**Bella's POV**

We spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the Mariner's game (which they lost) and eating lunch. Edward did an amazing job grilling the hot dogs, and it tasted sinfully like Heaven. When the game was over around four o'clock, he finally got around to watering the plants while I flipped to a random Lifetime movie. They were definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. What woman could honestly say they never watched Lifetime Movie Network for an entire day? True Movie Thursday was my favorite, though it creeped me out to know that that stuff actually happened.

When it got somewhat dark outside, Edward suggested we go sit on his parents' massive and gorgeous back patio to look up at the stars. It was an unusually clear night for Washington and we wanted to take advantage of it. We grabbed a blanket incase it got chilly outside, and made our way out the back door. We sat on a wide, cushioned lounge chair and curled up next to each other, staring up at the sky with another Rolling Rock in each of our hands.

"Bella…" he started, moving his hand lightly up and down my upper arm above the blanket which stopped at my elbow.

I tilted my chin up to look at him, only to find his gaze already fixed on me. "Hmm?"

"I just want to talk about what we're going to do once I go on tour."

What? What did he mean _do_? I hadn't really planned on anything changing. "What do you mean?" I asked, unable to stop my voice from shaking.

His hand stopped moving on my arm and he pulled me closer, kissing the top of my head. "Don't panic, Bella. You know I love you. I just meant…well, I was hoping that eventually you'd be able to go on the tour with us. It's not forever, and we'd be back in Seattle eventually and stay for a while before the next tour."

Go with him? The thought made me ecstatic, even though I knew there were going to be a lot of arrangements to be made. He was more than worth it. I smiled, looking up at him again, and nodded. "Eventually."

He smiled back and kissed my forehead. "A month from now we'll be in Dallas. How would you like to join us there?"

I sighed and nodded. A month would be a long time, but we could manage. I knew we would. We'd gone a long time without seeing each other before, only now we were a couple. It would be different, sure, but we both knew we'd survive. "How many cities after that?" I asked.

"There'll be fifteen in the U.S.—which will take about two months or a little longer—and then three European cities in two weeks: Amsterdam, Paris, and London, in that order. They thought they were clever or something starting the farthest West and coming back."

I laughed. "Well it makes perfect sense to me. And I've never been to any of those cities. I think that would be fantastic."

"I have big plans for you in the city of love, my dear," he said as he kissed me in the way that apparently originated in France.

We both froze as we heard a car door loud and clear out front, and the crunch of gravel as whoever it was walked around back. "I thought they weren't coming home until Monday afternoon!" I hissed, my eyes growing wide.

"Yeah, baby, I thought so too," he frowned and sat up a little bit, setting his beer on the table next to our lounge as the person finally made their way around the back of the house and came into view. Well, he was in view of Edward anyway. Once Edward stood up he was blocking me completely from sight. His body visibly relaxed and he looked over his shoulder at me. "Pool guy," he whispered.

"Hey, Edward," the voice of the apparent pool guy, said. "I saw your car. Didn't know you were gonna be here," he said casually. I relaxed, too, realizing they were comfortable with each other. "Your mom mentioned they were gonna be out of town when I came by this time, and I figured it would be okay if I did it at night."

"Yeah, no problem, bro," Edward said as he stepped forward to shake his hand. When he did so, I could finally see the face of the pool guy.

Edward turned around and gestured to me like he was going to introduce me, but I stood up quickly before he could as my mind processed who was standing in front of me. "Jake?!" I ran forward and threw my arms around his neck.

"Bella!" he laughed as he hugged me back.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so, I was going to leave it without her saying his name, but I figured it would be totally obvious to most of you anyway, so I didn't bother. What do you think? How do they know each other?!**

**The next order of business, is that I feel the need to explain myself a bit. For those of you who actually noticed that the baseball player Bella was gushing about has the same last name as my pen name, yeah…it's no coincidence. I love J.J. Hardy to death. I'm a hardcore Brewers fan and was **_**deeply**_** saddened by the fact that he was traded this year. (I actually cried. Shut up. I hear you laughing.) Anyway, I found myself actually paying attention to the Twins (and sort of liking them except when they play the Brewers in interleague) this year because I couldn't bear to part with him. But I only get to watch when they play the White Sox (because Wisconsin gets Chicago channels sometimes) or are on ESPN, hence her comment about not paying twenty a month for MLB network. **

**Third, "Party Like a Rock Star" is property of Shop Boyz and "Ticket to Ride" is property of the Beatles (actually, Michael Jackson's kids, probably).**

**Fourth and final, REVIEW!! It seriously makes me write faster to know you guys are enjoying this story. Needless to say, I don't get too many reviews, hence, no inspiration for the next chapter!**

**Follow me on Twitter if you aren't already (and pimp my story while you're at it)!! Username: bellin715**


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